Cry For Help
by AshleyMocha12
Summary: The girl with the dramatic appearance, the happy,defined attitude.that was Imogen Moreno. the beautiful, smart, striving actress, Nothing could be wrong. Truthfully, there lay a broken girl inside, and Eli Goldsworthy was determined to mend the pieces.
1. Writer's Block

**Author's Note: Okay everyone this is my VERY first Emogen fic and it's going to be pretty surprising **** I'm excited to get this going and I'm excited to hear everyone's feedback! I honestly want ATLEAST 80 reviews for this whole fic, so can you guys please make that happen for me? Lol, well let me explain a few things. **

**This fic takes place after the whole "Did you erase me from your memory" outburst, and a few weeks after that. Imogen is going to be VERY OOC, well compared to the previews I've seen of her. Just so you know, I DO NOT write smut (pornography) but there will be intimacy in this fic. Enough rambling, enjoy **** AND REVIEW! Thanks!**

Eli's P.O.V

I sat at the desk in the Drama Club, the lights dimmed low. Everyone was gone; it was just me, a pen and a piece of paper.

It was my job to write an outstanding play for the production, and I never thought it would be this much pressure. I looked on the ground at the many crumpled up pieces of paper that contained my many bad ideas.

I sat my head down on the desk. I didn't know what to do; the deadline is next week and I'm supposed to pitch my idea to the Drama Instructor by then. I looked at the clock and it was 7:00. I sighed angrily and attempted to write again.

_The elderly woman and her three grandchildren go missing in the month of August. When the woman's daughter embarks on a journey to find them, she realizes that similar stories have been discovered- _

"Gahh!" I screamed, crumpling up the paper and adding it to the paper ball collection. Out of nowhere, I heard footsteps, heels, clanking toward the door. I stayed seated, as I was confused as to who would be here this late. A minute later, Fiona walked in. She was wearing a black tank top with silver sparkles and a black mini skirt with black panty-hose.

"Eli?" she questioned.

"Where are you going, a little under aged to be getting into the club, now aren't you?" I joked. She giggled sarcastically and walked over to the wardrobe.

"I just came back from a date, if you must know." She said, taking out pieces of cloth from the wardrobe.

"Ahh, well while your having fun, I'm here slaving over an idea." I admitted. She turned to me and frowned.

"I thought you were going with the Murder at the Masquerade idea? I already started the pre-costumes, that's why I came back so I could get more cloth." She whined. I shook my head.

"It doesn't feel right Fiona. I can't write to my fullest extent with that idea. I can't relate to it." I confessed. She stomped her foot and folded her arms like a three year old. I sighed.

"Come over. You can't stay here for too much longer and I need to be with you once that million dollar idea pops into your head so I can start on the costumes." Fiona said, gathering up the rest of the Cloth.

"Okay." I said, gathering up my stuff and stuffing it into my back pack. I grabbed the paper balls from the floor and trashed it. As me and Fiona exited the Drama room, I snapped off the lights and locked the door behind me. We walked out of the school, into the dark blue sky, threatening to turn purple any second now.

"My cab is over here." Fiona said, walking toward an orange vehicle. I followed after her and climbed into the car after her. The car pulled onto the road and Fiona and I sat in silence until the cab pulled up to her loft. She paid the fare and we exited.

"Make yourself at home." Fiona said, unlocking the door and guiding me in. This wasn't my first time here, but I had only come swiftly while she was dating Adam. I had only stayed for like five minutes.

We walked into the living room and I sat my bag on the reclining chair. I sat on the main couch and grabbed the remote. She swiped the remote from my hand and slammed it on the table.

"What do you think you're doing?" She questioned.

"You told me to make myself at home!" I responded back innocently.

"Don't you have a play to work on?" she yelled.

"Oh right…the play." I said, frowning.

"Elijah Goldsworthy…" she said, walking off. I snickered to myself and walked over to my bag to get a pencil and piece of paper. I walked back over to the main couch and took a deep breath.

"I'm going to take a shower!" Fiona called from her bedroom.

"Kay!" I replied. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"Come on, hit me with a good one." I whispered to myself.

2 hours later

Fiona sat in the reclining chair, wearing white silk pajama pants and a pink spaghetti strap. The house was completely quiet, other than the reoccurring sounds of my pencil writing, and then the paper crumbling. She sighed as my 50th crumpled piece of paper hit the ground.

"Do you have _anything _Eli?" she asked, tired. I shook my head, ashamed.

"Nope." I sighed. "I never had this bad of a writers block before."

"Do you think…do you think that it has something do with Clare?" she asked slowly, biting her lip. My eyes widened at her name. _Clare._ A wave of sadness washed over me and I knew it was time to re-medicate.

"I uh- I have to go." I said, gathering the paper balls in my arms. Fiona walked over and helped. We threw them in the garbage and she turned to me.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought her up." She apologized.

"It's fine. It's just getting late and my mom will worry. I'll try again tomorrow." I reassured. She smiled apologetically and walked me to the door.

"I should call you a cab." She said, getting her phone out.

"No. My house isn't too far from here, I'll walk. I could use the fresh air." I said. She raised her eyebrow but didn't protest.

"See you tomorrow." She said before closing the door. I started on my way walking home. Secretly, I was hoping that someone would pop out and stab me to death. It would make things in my life much easier.

After about twenty minutes of walking, I arrived home. I opened the front door and I saw Cece sitting on the couch, watching the news.

"Hey honey. Did you come up with an idea for the play?" she asked.

"Not yet." I mumbled, storming up the stairs. I ran to my room, slammed the door and then collapsed on the bed. Hopefully I'd dream up an idea for the play, but odds were that I'd only dream about Clare.

…

I arrived at school pretty early the next day. I walked up the steps of Degrassi and opened the doors. The halls were pretty empty, except for some of the teachers and Student Council. I walked past Sav, and he nodded at me so I nodded back.

I walked to my locker and opened it, grabbing another notebook since I didn't have anymore paper in the other one.

I looked down at my leg. The small brown bandage wrapped around my ankle was useless because my leg was just about healed. I sighed and walked off toward the Drama Club and I stopped when I saw a girl standing at the doorway talking to the drama instructor.

"When can I audition?" the girl asked.

Audition? There was no play to audition for yet. I walked over to them and both eyes turned to me once I stopped in front of them.

"Excuse me, but I overheard her asking about auditioning, and we're not having auditions. There isn't even a play!" I said. The girl giggled and I eyed here confusedly. I didn't find anything funny.

"Mr. Goldsworthy, I am using an old play written by one of the older students so that we can audition people. Once you turn your play idea in, then we can cast people. Does that sound good to you?" the instructor asked, an edge of attitude in her tone. I didn't respond, I just stared at the girl beside me. She had 2 sloppy buns on each side of her head, and she wore white framed glasses. Her skin tone was beautifully tan, which complimented her white teeth. Her style was dramatic, black and red polka dot tights with blue bangles and a green side bag.

"Umm…who are you?" I asked her. She smiled and held her hand out.

"Imogen Moreno, pleased to meet you."

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	2. Auditions

**Author's Note: Okayy thanks for the small amount of reviews so far, let's keep them coming! Even if it's super short or super long, just review for me? Okay thanks. This chapter should be a little longer than the first one. LEGGO , (As Munro would say ****(; )**

Eli's P.O.V

I stared at Imogen, her pure, brown eyes staring back at me. I shook her hand and she flashed me her fluorescent teeth.

Looking at her, all I could see was a happy, confident young woman, but when you have the capability to see beyond such a poker face as I do, anyone could see that there was something much deeper than what meets the eye.

Imogen cleared her throat and pulled her hand back. I hadn't even noticed that I was holding her hand for more than a minute.

"Mrs. Moreno, tryouts will be at 1:00. You will hear an announcement for tryouts around that time and your teacher should release you." The instructor told her. She nodded in agreement and then the instructor started back for the drama room. She turned to me and narrowed her eyes.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

"In a minute." I said. She shook her head and walked inside, closing the door after her. I turned to Imogen and she smiled at me. I was at loss for words, so I said the first thing that came to mind.

"So, are you new here?" I asked.

"Yeah, I've been here since last week." She replied. I nodded my head slowly.

"Oh, I just haven't seen you around or anything." I said.

"Well, how about you walk me to my locker and we can talk some more." She invited. I grinned at her and nodded my head. It wasn't _my _grin, it was just a grin. _My _grin died the same night my relationship with Clare died. Oh god, Clare. I need to stop thinking about her…

Imogen cleared her throat again, beckoning me to follow her. I followed after her as she led me to the Blue hallway.

"So, your name is Elijah?" Imogen asked.

"Yeah…how do you know?" I asked curiously.

"I heard your name on the intercom a few days ago." She confessed.

"Oh, interesting." I laughed. "You must have a great memory."

"At times." She said, giggling. We stopped in front of her locker and she attempted at unlocking the combo, but it wouldn't budge.

"Hey, let me try." I said, pushing her to the side a bit with my elbow. When our elbows came in contact, it felt…nice. It felt like in some way, for a brief second, we were close, like we've known each other for way more than just two seconds. It scared the hell out of me.

"Wha-What's your combo?" I stuttered. She giggled quietly and dug in her bag. When she came across a tiny piece of paper, she handed it to me.

_22-14-12_

I tried the combination, and with a minute of fidgeting with the rusty lock, it opened.

"Thank you, Elijah!" Imogen squeeled, throwing her arms around my neck. I was startled at this, but I just put my hands on her back. She instantly pulled away, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry…it's just a pain in the ass fooling with this lock every morning." She said, a light pink blush forming on her face.

"Don't' be. And you can call me Eli if you want." I responded.

"Okay." She said, smiling. The bell rung above us, signaling time for class.

"Sorry for holding you up I know you had to get to Drama Class." Imogen said.

"No it's fine, anything to avoid Mrs. Hyser for a little longer is okay with me." I joked.

"Okay." She laughed. "See you at One." She said, walking away with a smile on her face. I stared after her and smiled gently.

I started walking to the Drama Club where I awaited my fait with the instructor. I walked into the theater and walked swiftly over to her desk.

"You're late. I wanted to see you before class." She stated, not looking up from her paperwork.

"I'm sorry, I was just helping out the new girl." I stated.

"Imogen? She's a sweet girl. Someone you'd be interested in, no?" she asked. I laughed.

"Oh no… no I'm not, interested in her…like that." I said. She raised her eyebrow and put her glasses on that were connected to her necklace.

"Back to the important business, how's your progress in the play?" she asked. I parted my lips, trying to come up with a nice lie.

"I uh… it's progressing." I lied. She narrowed her eyes and smacked her lips.

"You're lying. Do you even have an idea in mind?" she asked.

"I do, I just can't seem to grasp it into words." I confessed. She shook her head, untouched.

"Look Mr. Goldsworthy, truthfully…maybe you're not cut out to run a play." She said. I gasped and shook my head.

"No I am, I promise. You just have to give me some time. It's due next week, I promise I'll have it." I pleaded. She attempted to shake her head again, but I did the dramatic and slapped my hands together as if I was about to pray.

"Pleaseeee Mrs. Hyser. Pleaseee, don't lose your faith in me. I won't disappoint you. I promise." I begged. She stared at me for awhile, but then she finally sighed.

"Well go on then. But I want my play _**by Monday. **_No excuses." She said. I smiled in domination and thanked her a million times before exiting the Drama room.

I ran to my first period which was Math. I was half way there when all of a sudden I collided into someone while turning the corner. We both fell to the floor, along with that persons books. I blacked out for a few seconds, but when I came back to reality, I realized that the person I ran into was Alli, Clare's best friend. Oh shit.

"What the fuck, can you watch where you're going?" she screamed, gathering her books.

"Awww did you break a nail?" I mocked, picking myself up off of the floor. She looked at her nails and gasped.

"Yes, I did actually." She screeched.

"Good." I spat. "Now maybe you'll stop being such a bitch."

I walked away from her without a word more. I could feel her eyes burning holes in the back of my brain, and I didn't give two shits. Alli had always been a bitch since the first day I met her, and I had no idea how Clare put up with it.

As I entered my Math class, all eyes went on me.

"Mr. Goldsworthy, do you have a late pass?" Mr. Bradley asked.

"No…" I said slowly. The class snickered and the irritated teacher sighed.

"Come up here." He said, beckoning me to come up to the front. He got out one of his tardy slips and clipped it to my shirt, a form of punishment.

"I don't understand why you kids can't just be to class on time… boggles my old mind." He said, stamping the tardy slip.

Mr. Bradley was like six foot six, one of the tallest teachers at Degrassi. I barely came to his elbow.

"Take your seat." He said, motioning me to my seat.

I sat down, and zoned out for the rest of the period.

"_Imogen? She's a sweet girl. Someone you'd be interested in, no?"_

I still had those words of Mrs. Hyser in my mind the whole period. I had no idea why, but they were all I could think of.

As soon as the bell rung, I bolted for the door.

"Mr. Goldsworthy!" Mr. Bradley called. I turned around slowly, trying not to look _too _irritated.

"Do not take off that tardy slip!" he said.

"Of course not, Mr. Bradley." I said. As soon as I fled the classroom, I snapped off that stupid slip and trashed it by the lockers.

I walked down the hallway, toward Mrs. Dawes' class where I had second period. I usually had it first period, but when the semester ended, all of our classes changed.

I walked into the classroom, and as I was walking in, Clare was walking out.

She stopped in front of me and gasped silently. I stood there, hypnotized by her baby blue eyes.

She stood there, looking at me like she wanted to say something, and I was desperately waiting for her to.

As soon as she opened her mouth, Jake, her boy toy, came walking over. She glanced at him, as I glared at him.

"Hey beautiful." He said, walking behind Clare and wrapping his arms around her waist. His eyes never left mine. He was practically saying _Look you coward, she's all mine _with his eyes.

"Hey." She breathed. I glared at the two of them together, showing affection right in front of my face. Jake kissed her temple and pulled her away, guiding her down the hall. I stared after them and sighed sadly. My worst nightmare had come true. The love of my life, in another mans arms. I entered Mrs. Dawes' class and sat down in my usual seat. The one where Clare would be sitting right in front of me. Oh god, _Clare._

_**A few hours later**_

"Can the drama club please report to the auditorium, drama club to the auditorium at this time please?" Holly J said over the announcements.

I grabbed my back pack and scurried out of boring science class. As I was walking down the hall way, I saw Fiona walking toward the auditorium.

"Wait up!" I called, speeding up to catch up with her. She stopped for me and smiled when I came by her.

"Are you ready for two and half grueling hours of bad acting and pig calls?" I joked. She laughed and shook her head.

"Oh, don't be so negative. You never know, we might see a lot of good auditions today." Fiona said. I rolled my eyes.

We entered the auditorium together, and went to greet Mrs. Hyser.

"Hello Ms. Coyne and Mr. Goldsworthy, I'd like you two to sit in front of the stage where those four seats are at. Holly J Sinclair and Sav Bhandari will be joining you to help audition."

She said, motioning to the seats in front of the stage.

We walked over to the chairs and Fiona sat on the outside left, leaving me to sit in the middle next to her.

"Can all grades 10-12 who would like to audition for the play journey to the auditorium at this time please?" Holly J announced a minute later.

I already knew that most of the school would be bunched up in the auditorium seats due to the fact that the Degrassi kids will do _anything _to get out of class, even if that means auditioning for a play that hasn't even been written yet.

Holly J and Sav walked into the auditorium, and I could see Mrs. Hyser telling them to take a seat next to Fiona and I.

They walked over and Holly J sat next to me, leaving Sav on the outside.

"Hey Fi, Hello Eli." Holly J greeted.

"Holly J! Oh my gosh I'm so happy you're here!" Fiona squealed.

"Hi." I stated simply.

In a matter of seconds, students started filing in the auditorium. It was a mixture of purple, red and blue, and boy was there a bunch of them.

It took about twenty minutes for the extra teachers and Mrs. Hyser to get all of the students seated.

Mrs. Hyser walked up to the middle of the stage and grabbed the microphone.

"Okay, we will start off with the grade ten. First in line, come on up!" she said, putting the microphone on the stand and exiting to the background.

A second later, the little quirky nerd, Wesley walked up to the stage and grabbed the microphone.

I grabbed the script Mrs. Hyser set on the table in front of us and read aloud.

"First, start off with a song."

Wesley adjusted his glasses and gulped loud enough to fill the auditorium.

"_Take me out to the ball game-_

"NEXT!" Fiona shouted. Wesley stood there, embarrassed as the auditorium burst in laughter.

Mrs. Hyser walked up and grabbed the mic.

"E-NOUGH!" she shouted, silencing the auditorium at once.

She put the microphone back on the stand as Wesley quickly walked off of the stage. Next, Alli Bhandari walked on the stage. Oh great, let me have some fun with this.

"So, I have to sing?" Alli asked with a hence of attitude.

"Well it is necessary." Holly J responded.

"Can't I just read some lines?" Alli argued.

"Alli…" Sav responded.

"If you pass the song, which you probably won't, then you will read from a script." I retorted. She scrunched her nose and swiped the microphone off of the stand.

"Whatever." She whispered in to it. _"All eyes on me when I walk in, no question that this girls a ten, don't hate me cuz I'm beautiful, don't hate me cuz I'm-_

"NEXT, NEXT, NEXTTT!" I screamed, interrupting her singing.

"She was good." Fiona whispered in my ear.

"Yeah but I don't like her." I whispered back.

"Hey that's my sister!" Sav whispered to me. I rolled my eyes in response.

"Whatever. You losers don't know real talent when you see it!" she said, storming off of the stage.

K.C walked on the stage and stood there like a complete idiot.

"Are you going to sing something?" I asked, irritation dripping from my words.

K.C cleared his throat and grabbed the mic.

"You told me to play **BASKETBALL!**" he screamed through the mic, causing us to jump. He threw the microphone down, causing it to squeal and ran off of the stage and out of the auditorium.

For about another thirty minutes, the grade ten's came up to the stage, making a fool out of everything. We only voted yes to about ten of them.

After the grade 10's were cleared from the auditorium, Mrs. Hyser walked up to the mic.

"Okay, well we're going to have the grade 11's come down so first one, come right up! Don't forget to do a song first." She said before stepping away from the microphone.

Bianca DeSousa walked up to the microphone and grabbed it confidently.

"Your song please?" Holly J smiled.

"_Hello little las-sieeeee's, ask me bout De-grass-iiii! It's a piece of crap and super whack just the like kids and teachers!" _Bianca sang tauntingly. Mrs. Hyser ran to her and snatched the mic.

"Off to the principles office, Ms. DeSousa." She snapped.

Another straining hour of Grade 11's came up to the stage, but we did vote yes on about twenty kids. However, I sadly didn't see any sign of Imogen…

"Last group, grade 12's. let's make this a good one guys, please…" Mrs. Hyser announced through the microphone.

Chantay walked up to the stage and smiled.

"Hey Hey Hey! It's Chantay!" she yelled through the microphone.

"Umm…okay? Your song please…" I said. She narrowed her eyes at me cleared her throat.

"_Oh when the saints, go marching in, oh when the saints go marching in! Oh how I want to be in the number of when the Saints go marching in!" _She sang proudly.

"Can you read an excerpt from this script? Eli will be Chonsey and you will be Cheyenne" Fiona asked, handing Chantay the script.

"Yo _Chownsy!" _Chantay read.

"It's Chonsey madam." I read.

"Anywho, where's the _potty _at?" she read.

"The restroom is down the hall." I read.

"Not the toilet, son. The _potty! _Where we get down and funkay!"

"The _party _isn't for people your age, mam."

"Yo Chownsy, don't be rappin that spit yo!" she read.

"Thankyou Chantay, congratulations, you're in the play!" Fiona said happily.

"Yay! I won't disappoint!" Chantay yelled, running down the stairs. "I won't-

**BOOM!** Her sentence was silenced by her tragic fall down the four steps. Everyone in the auditorium stood up to see if she was okay.

I couldn't help by snicker to myself, because that was some pretty hilarious shit.

Fiona ran over to Chantay and Chantay moaned in pain.

"I think I sprained my ankle." She whined. Two of the teachers grabbed Chantay and walked her to the nurse.

A few more of the seniors auditioned, but there was still no sight of Imogen… it frustrated me a bit.

"Thankyou everyone for auditioning, we will get back to you all." Mrs. Hyser said. The rest of the seniors fled the auditorium, leaving Holly J, Sav, Fiona, Mrs. Hyser and I in there to conversate.

"Well this was a some what disaster." Sav admitted.

"How?" Mrs. Hyser questioned.

"Well, we only have fifty-seven students out of 3 grades that were actually good. Don't we need like at least one hundred?" Holly J explained.

"Well, we need at the most sixty actors/actresses. We need forty behind the scenes crew, so we can choose from the 'not so talented' bunch for those." Mrs. Hyser said confidently.

"Did you see Imogen at all?" I asked.

"No…I didn't. That's odd." Mrs. Hyser said. I sighed.

"Well, are we done here?" Fiona asked.

"Yeah, thanks guys." Mrs. Hyser said. We all got up, but we were interrupted by the doors of the auditorium being thrown open. The person who ran in was none other than, Imogen. She looked like she was in a hurry.

"I'm soooo sorry I'm late! My teacher wouldn't let me out because I was taking a placement test! Am I way too late to audtition?" she asked, out of breath.

"No. We can wait a little longer." I chirped. All eyes went on me, followed by sighs. Imogen smiled, her cheeks red from running and she leaped on stage.

We, the judges, took our original seats and Fiona grabbed the script.

"Can you sing a song?" Fiona asked politely.

"Sure" Imogen smiled.

"_I try the hardest I can, but somehow I can never escape the pain. I don't know what I did to deserve this, but I'm trying to live better, I'm trying to make it work. I want to learn the things I was never taught, but it's hard to do it when there's no one I can go to now… somehow…" _

She sang each word so powerfully. It was almost like she could relate to each word she sung. I studied her eyes carefully, how they would water when she hit a high note. I smiled at her as she finished, along with everyone else.

"That was…that was amazing." Holly J said, breathless.

"Great job, now if you can get this script perfectly, then you'll be in the play!" Fiona said, looking through the script.

"Let me do that." I whispered. She slowly handed me the script and I flipped to a part between Chonsey and his true love, Lina.

"Read this paragraph with me from this script. I will be Chonsey, and you'll be Lina." I said, handing her the second script. She grabbed it and smiled at me.

"Chonsey, what are you doing here?" Imogen read, her voice pure and scared.

"I came to see you… I can't go a day without you in my life, Lina." I read.

"But don't you know, my life is heading in a separate direction from yours. We cannot be." Imogen read, her eyes tearing.

"Wherever you're going, I'm going… I love you more than anything in the world." I read back.

"Do you mean that?" Imogen read, pain in her words.

"That's like asking if I love you, of course I do." I read. Imogen stared at me and smiled. That's when I looked below Chonsey's sentence and it read that we shared a passionate kiss.

"Do we have to kiss?" Imogen asked, giggling.

"No, it's already kind of hot in here. We don't need to set off the alarm" I joked. Everyone laughed at my corniness.

"Imogen, you are IN THE PLAY! Hands down!" Fiona shouted.

"I am? Yes!" Imogen shouted, smiling. Her eyes found mine again, and she gave me a soft, genuine smile. I smiled back, blown away.

Not only was she beautiful, but she was amazingly talented. That's when I knew I found the inspiration for my play.

**Author's Note: okay, so what did you guys think? I know I was laughing when I wrote K.C and Chantay's auditions xD I'd love some reviews with your feedback, so if you're reading, leave me some? Please? **** thanks!**

**If I get atleast 10, I'll update tomorrow :D **

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	3. Inspiration

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews guys! I was SO close to getting ten last chapter, but I got nine :O so I couldn't update yesterday… but lets try again! Reviews yes ;) enjoy! **

Fiona, Holly J, Sav, Imogen and I walked out of the auditorium moments later. Mrs. Hyser stayed back to go through our 'yes' list.

I was hoping that I'd get a chance to talk to Imogen, but Holly J and Fiona were talking enthusiastically to her about her singing and acting skills, leaving me to walk with my old friend Sav.

"Hey Sav, sorry about dissin' your sister like that." I apologized. Sav looked at me and laughed.

"Dude, I know my sister is a pain. Don't worry about it." He said. I smiled and looked over at Imogen.

She was walking in the middle of Holly J and Fiona, and they were throwing questions at her like reporters investigating a juicy story.

I could see that some of the personal questions were hard for her to answer. When they would ask her personal things, she'd bite her lip and her eyes would search around the room.

"We only have like 5 minutes of school left. You guys sure you want to go to class?" Fiona asked.

I looked at her and shook my head.

"I wasn't planning on going to class." I laughed.

"Where were you planning on going?" Imogen asked, a smile on her face.

"The Dot." I answered.

"The Dot? What is that…?" she asked. The four of us laughed, and she stood there looking confused.

"Are you joking?" Sav asked. She shook her head slightly.

"The Dot is none other than the Degrassi students most humble hang out!" I responded.

"Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I tagged along, you know, so you can give me the basics on this 'humble…hangout'." Imogen said, stretching out the words _humble hangout_ with a smile. I smiled back and walked over to her.

"Your arm madam?" I asked, lending out my arm. she giggled slightly as we intertwined our arms and started for the front doors of Degrassi.

"See you two later!" Fiona called down the hall. I raised my finger in response.

As Imogen and I walked out of the school, she let go of my arm and turned to me.

"Thanks." She said. I raised my eyebrow.

"For?" I questioned.

"For letting me tag along. To be honest, I didn't make too many friends yet, and the ones I did make barely talk to me. You're the only one who actually makes me feel welcome." She said, smiling softly. I loved her smile. It was so real; I could feel her emotions every time she smiled. I smirked back.

"You're a really nice girl, Imogen. I'm delighted to accompany you to The Dot." I said. I started walking toward The Dot and she followed after me, unsure of where this café was.

"I wish I would have driven my dad's car to school. It would have saved us this walk." I laughed.

"It's fine. What's the rush?" she asked. I stared at her and smiled, as a pink blush crept up on her face.

It didn't take much longer to get to The Dot. We walked in and I noticed her staring around the place, trying to get the feel of it.

"I like it." She smiled. I smiled back and searched around for familiar faces. I knew I probably wouldn't find any because school was just letting out, but I didn't care.

"Let's get you a menu." I said. She nodded in agreement.

We walked over to the counter where Peter was standing.

"Two menus." I said.

Peter handed us the menus and I walked over to a table with two seats across from each other. We sat down and I handed Imogen a menu.

I flipped mine open and turned to the sandwich page.

"So, what do you usually get?" she asked, browsing through her menu.

"I usually get coffee, black. When I'm hungry, I usually order nachos." I answered. She smiled and looked at me.

"You drink black coffee?" she giggled.

"It's surprisingly tasty." I laughed. She shook her head, laughing.

"Well, I like nachos… do you want to share?" she asked, looking down. I stared at her in amazement. Not a lot of girls would have the courage to ask something like that.

"Yeah, I'd like to share some nachos with you." I said softly. She looked up and stared at me, a small smile forming on her lips.

Some waitress walked up to us, breaking the silence.

"Are you guys ready to order?" she asked, taking out her pen and pad.

"Yeah, uh, how about a nice order of those nachos?" I asked.

The lady scribbled that on her pad.

"Any drinks?" she asked.

"What would you like to drink?" I asked Imogen.

"Umm… a Sprite is fine." She answered.

"And one large sprite." I replied to the waitress. She quickly scribbled that on her pad and walked away.

"You don't want anything to drink?" Imogen questioned?

"Well, don't you want to share the drink too?" I asked. A pink blush crept on Imogen's face, and I raised my eyebrows up and down at her, smirking.

"Ye-yeah, I mean…why not?" she stuttered, blushing intensely. I couldn't help but smile at her, how she'd get so nervous when I'd say something cunning.

After a minute, I decided to start a conversation.

"So, tell me about yourself." I said. She looked at me, and then looked away.

"Umm… well I'm kind of boring to be honest." She said, with a very uneasy laugh at the end.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" I asked, hopefully avoiding anything too personal. She stared at me and it was one of the most heart breaking stares that I had ever seen. Her lips quivered and her light brown eyes filled with unshed tears.

I was very confused, and I hadn't known if it was my fault for her sudden sadness. I grabbed her hand slowly and gave it a gentle squeeze. Hopefully that would calm her down.

"Imogen? Are you okay?" I asked softly. She stared at me for a second and then blinked her unshed tears away quickly. Her expression changed from sad to happy in a matter of seconds.

"Yeah." She laughed. "I was just thinking of something."

"Oh…okay." I said, unsure of what to say next.

"But yeah, I have a little brother and a little sister from my dad's side." She said, looking around the cafe. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

I felt like there was something she wasn't telling me…something that hurt her deeply. I hesitantly caressed her hand, massaging her wrist. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at our intertwined hands.

I studied her face, looking for a hence of emotion telling me know to let go, but all I saw was a gentle smile. She stared at me, the same smile on her face.

I smiled back with the same amount of softness.

A minute later, the waitress brought our food to us. I reluctantly pulled my hand away from Imogen and grabbed the nachos, as she grabbed the soda.

The waitress walked away, leaving Imogen and I to talk freely.

"So, tell me about _yourself._." Imogen said, grabbing a nacho and biting off of the tip.

"Actually, I'm _very _boring." I confessed.

"Please." Imogen said, a small smile on her face.

"You honestly want to know about me?" I asked.

"Well…yeah." She said, grabbing another nacho.

"Well I'm an only child, my dad is Bull Frog on-

"Hold on, your _dad _is bullfrog?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah." I smirked. "And you want to know the perks of being a shock jocks dad?"

"I'm dying here, yes!" Imogen said enthusiastically.

"I can get tickets to all of the concerts!" I whispered happily.

"Including the Dead Hand concert?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"Especially the Dead Hand concert." I smirked.

"Elijah Goldsworthy I will make out with you if you can score us tickets to that concert!" she chirped, smiling happily.

I was a bit shocked when she said that, but it wasn't a bad shock.

"I'm going to hold you to that." I smirked. She smiled back and grabbed another nacho.

"Are you going to eat anything?" she asked, dipping the nacho in extra cheese.

I grabbed two nachos and stuffed them into my mouth. Imogen stared at me, her eyes narrowed.

"Okay, do I need to feed you so that you can eat right?" she laughed.

"That'd be nice." I joked back.

Imogen grabbed a nacho and reached across the table, holding it out for me to bite. As I bit it slowly, my eyes never left hers.

"You have some cheese on the corner of your mouth…I'll get it." She said softly.

I sat completely still as Imogen's thumb slowly rubbed my lower lip.

She was leaning across the table, but our faces were so close that I could smell her perfume, which smelled surprisingly delicious.

I was sure that the cheese was gone by now, but her thumb remained on lip.

We were staring into each others eyes, not a word being said. I didn't know whether to kiss her or not, but the moment felt so right.

Wait, did I even want to kiss her? I didn't know what was going on…but I wasn't complaining.

Out of nowhere, Imogen laughed and sat back in her seat, which knocked my thoughts completely.

"I'm thirsty." She said, grabbing the two straws from the table. I grabbed the soda and moved my chair so that I was sitting directly next to Imogen.

She stuck both straws in the cup and wrapped her lips around one of them. I did the same to the other.

I decided to play with her, so I grabbed my straw and started to push her straw away. She giggled, her lips still wrapped around the tip.

She used her straw to move mine the same way I did to hers.

"This is war." I laughed. She giggled, and we continued our straw fight.

A minute later, the door to the dot opened, and I heard a familiar voice. It was a voice I'd know anywhere.

I turned to the source, and I saw Clare, Alli and Jake enter. Imogen turned to look at them and she smiled.

"Are they your friends?" she asked me. I turned back to her, lost in thought and nodded, unsure of what she asked.

Imogen got up, making her way over there and I ran quickly after her.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"Meeting your friends!" Imogen smiled.

"N-no." I stuttered, but it was too late.

"Hey guys!" Imogen chirped. They all turned around and looked at the both of us standing there. Alli looked annoyed, Jake looked smug, and Clare looked surprised.

"Umm hi…" Clare said, her eyes narrowed. I could feel an anxiety attack coming.

"Well, are you going to introduce me to your friends?" Imogen asked.

"_Friends?"_ Alli spat. Imogen turned to her, confused.

"Alli, stop." Clare whispered.

"Okay, let me introduce you. That's Jake, that is _Alli." _I said, dragging Alli's name out annoyingly. Then I turned to Clare. "And that's Clare." I said softly. Clare stared at me, her beautiful blue eyes sparkling.

"Well it's nice to meet all of you." Imogen smiled.

"Who are _you?_" Alli asked, with the same amount of bitchiness that she carried everyday.

"Imogen Moreno. I'm new here." Imogen replied, unfazed.

"Well, I'm new here too." Jake said, smiling. Imogen smiled back, but it wasn't the same smile that she usually gave me. It was almost like a fake smile, like she was forcing it.

"It's nice to meet you Imogen." Clare replied, shock still written all over her face. Imogen stared at her and forced another smile.

"Lets, get out of here." I told Imogen, my anxiety getting the best of me.

"What about the food?" she asked.

"I'll take care of it." I said. I walked over to the table and slapped a few bills down, maybe more than I should have. I didn't care; I just needed to get out of there.

I grabbed Imogen's hand and bolted through the door, not daring to look back. My cheeks were hot, and my breathing became hitched. I backed up against the wall, trying to regain my breath.

Imogen walked up to me and put her hand on my check, rubbing it up and down softly.

"Is everything okay?" she asked. I nodded my head quickly, my breathing slowly coming back.

"I just… I have asthma." I lied, out of breath.

"Where's your inhaler?" Imogen asked, panicking.

My breathing made its way back to normal and I put my hand on top of Imogen's, which was on my face.

"I'm fine." I sighed. "Thanks."

She smiled, lowering her hand, and it wasn't the smile she gave Jake and Clare, it was her smile. The one that I really liked.

"Well, I better get going. Thanks for bringing me here. This is going to be one of my favorite hangouts now." Imogen smiled.

"Anytime." I smirked. She opened her arms for a hug, and I wrapped my arms around her waist. She wrapped hers around my neck and I could feel her warmth. After a minute, we both pulled away from the hug, smiling at each other. That's what we seemed to do a lot.

"Bye." She breathed, backing away.

I waved at her and she turned around, walking home.

I decided that I should probably call Fiona to see if I could come over and discuss play options. I had an idea in my head that _needed _to get written on paper.

…

"Come in." Fiona smiled, opening the door. I walked in and walked directly to the main sofa.

"I need a pen and paper, now." I said. She ran to her room, and ran out seconds later with a pen and note pad. I grabbed it gratefully and began to write.

_The girl with the defined look, she seems to have it all. She's smart, beautiful and talented. Truthfully, something is haunting her deep down. When she meets someone new, will that person learn the truth behind the girl? _

I sighed, satisfied with my small summary. Fiona sat on the floor by my feet, waiting for me to finish.

"Are you done? Let me see!" she said bouncing happily like a six year old. I handed her the paper and I could see the excitement in her eyes as she read each line.

"This is great Eli! How did you come up with this?" she asked, handing the pad back to me.

I was debating on whether or not to tell her, since it would be kind of personal referring to Imogen. I honestly didn't want anyone to know where I got my inspiration from.

"I just…thought of it out of nowhere." I lied. Fiona smiled and got up from the floor, walking to the kitchen.

"This deserves a toast." She said, bringing out 2 glasses and a bottle of wine.

"I don't drink." I said, as she sat the wine glass in front of me.

"You do tonight." Fiona laughed, filling both glasses up halfway.

She handed me one and I reluctantly took it.

"A toast to creating an _outstanding _play idea!" Fiona sang. We clanked our glasses and as Fiona chugged hers down, I took a tiny sip. It was disgusting.

"Umm…you can have the rest of mine." I said, placing it on the table.

She stared at it for a second and then sighed sadly.

"Can't. I'm a recovering addict, I can barely have what I just had." She sighed.

"Well, I don't know what kind of costumes you're going to formulate from this idea…" I said.

"Oh, I already have like six in my mind right now!" she said, getting up and opening her purse. She pulled out several pieces of cloth and a few pin needles.

"Are you hungry?" Fiona asked, fetching her model doll.

"No thanks. I just had lunch with Imogen." I said.

"Oh yeah that's right." Fiona laughed.

I was really confused about how I felt about Imogen, I mean its not like I've known her for a long time, and I barely know a thing about her. But there is something there, and I can't deny it…

"Fiona, can I ask for your advice?" I asked. She turned to me, a smile on her face.

"Ask me anything."

I considered what I would say. I mean, I didn't have many friends who were girls, and Fiona and I had gotten pretty close since the play. I didn't have a problem asking her for girl advice.

"Imogen is pretty great, huh?" I started. Fiona sat down by my feet again.

"Yes! She's perfect for the play, and I think she can be the leading lady for your idea!" Fiona squealed.

"Well… I think she likes me." I said. "And… I think I like her too."

Fiona's face went completely shocked.

"But…you've only known her for a day." Fiona said.

"Yeah I know, but…it was like the first time she talked to me, it was an instant connection. I couldn't get my mind off of her at all today…. And we were flirting pretty hard at The Dot, not to mention sharing nachos and a drink." I finished. Fiona smiled brightly and clapped her hands.

"Oh my gosh Eli, you guys are in love!" she said.

"No, no we're not… I just think I like her, I think I really like her." I responded.

"Well, instead of thinking you should make sure that you know…and once you know, ask her on a real date." Fiona smiled.

I considered what she said, and I took it to heart. I really did have some things to think about. After the messy Clare break-up, I wasn't sure if I was ready to trust my feelings. But there was one thing that I knew…Imogen gave me a feeling that I've been yearning for a long time…

**Author's Note: Okay; sorry if this was pretty short, but it's kind of like a "filler chapter" the next one will be much longer **** there will be some more humor (K.C OF COURSE!) and more Emogen fluff!**

**Let me get about twelve reviews for this chapter, and I'll give you guys a BIG surprise! So if you're reading, don't just alert, leave me a quick review! Thanks guys! **

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	4. Bitter Sweet

**Author's Note: Okay guys, a few things!**

**Thankyou all so much! I got way more than 12 reviews for the last chapter, that made me so happy you guys!**

**Also, I forgot to mention that I do not own Degrassi, but I do own Mrs. Hyser and Mr. Bradley ;) **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter **

I pulled up in front of Degrassi in my dad's truck. He asked if I wanted to drive it today and I appreciatively took the offer. I was tired of walking everyday.

As soon as I parked, I exited the car with my back pack in hand.

I hurriedly walked up the steps of the school, hoping not to run into anybody unpleasant.

When I entered the building, I made my way to the drama room.

I spotted Fiona and Mrs. Hyser talking by her desk so I walked over to join them.

"Mr. Goldsworthy!" Mrs. Hyser greeted, a smile on her face.

I looked over at Fiona, who had a similar smile.

"Good morning ladies." I greeted back.

"Fiona has informed me that you wrote a splendid idea for the play." Mrs. Hyser said.

I stared at Fiona and she gave me the "well?" look. I smirked and dug into my back pack, pulling out the piece of paper with my idea on it.

I handed it to Mrs. Hyser and studied her face as she read.

She stared at me after a moment and I grew worried. What if she didn't like it? What if-

"This is beyond brilliant, Elijah!" she said happily. I sighed of relief.

"I'm glad you like it!" I responded. She walked over to the bulletin bored and pinned it up.

"I have great news for the both of you!" Mrs. Hyser said, smiling tremendously.

"This is the first time I've ever seen so many smiles from her." I whispered into Fiona's ear, causing her to chuckle.

"I made the list for everyone who got in the play!" Mrs. Hyser announced.

"Oh yay! Now we can start having Drama Club meetings and costume fittings!" Fiona clapped. I just nodded in response.

"And I'm going to give you two the honor of posting it up." Mrs. Hyser said.

"Honor?" someone said. Fiona and I turned around to see Holly J standing by the door.

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Hyser responded. Holly J walked up to us and laughed.

"Everyone knows that the person posting up the list is in for one of the _worst _experiences ever." Holly J laughed.

"Do explain." I said, beckoning her to continue.

She laughed a bit and shook her head.

"You'll see soon enough, dude."

"Ms. Sinclair is there a reason for you being here?" Mrs. Hyser asked, irritated.

"Oh yes, Mr. Simpson would like to see you in his office for a little while. Just to discuss some things about the play schedule." Holly J said, exiting right after.

"Don't listen to Holly J, you guys should be happy to be putting up the list for our first production." Mrs. Hyser reassured.

She handed us the list and started for the door.

"Wait!" Fiona called. Mrs. Hyser turned around, looking impatient.

"When do we hang this up?" Fiona asked.

"You'll hear an announcement." Mrs. Hyser said, turning back towards the door and walking out quickly.

"What do you think Holly J meant?" I asked, confused.

"Looks like we're going to have to wait and see." Fiona breathed, horrified.

…

"Okay students, if you tried out for the play, you may report to the student bulletin board at this time!" Sav announced through the announcements.

"There's our cue!" Fiona sighed. We walked over to the student bulletin board, where students were gathering by the second.

I walked up to it, and cautiously posted it smack dab in the middle.

I turned around to face everybody.

"Okay guys, please get in an orderly fashioned-

Before I could get the words out, I was attacked by multiple students charging toward the board.

"Eli!" Fiona screeched. I hurriedly tried to crawl my way out of the crowd. As soon as I saw an open space, I flew threw, crashing into Fiona.

Luckily, she didn't fall and she was able to catch me.

"Are you okay?" she asked me. I nodded in response, even though I was a little sore.

A second later, K.C came charging from the crowd, pissed.

"THIS. IS. _**BULLSHIT!**_" he screamed, his face growing red.

"K.C what's wrong?" Fiona asked, trying to calm him down.

"I had the best fucking audition in that whole auditorium! How didn't I get in?" He screamed, pacing back and forth. My eyes grew wide, watching his reaction.

Seconds later, more students came rushing out, yelling threatening things such as "You gota be kidding me!" and "Come on, your choosing _them_ over _**me?**_"

I stared at Fiona, who was just as scared as I was.

"Everyone, just, just _calm _down and we will get to everyone's requests!" Fiona tried to announce over everyone, but they wouldn't stop freaking out. Did they really want to be in a play this bad?

".!" K.C roared over the crowd, his mouth stretched wide open, his eyes practically bugging out. I narrowed my eyes at him, what is his problem?

"What are we going to do?" I asked Fiona, as two girls began screaming at each other.

"You can't act worth shit!" One girl screamed.

"I bet I can act better than you!" the other girl screamed, jumping on the girl. They began to fist fight.

"_**FIGHTTTTT!"**_ K.C roared, running over to the girls to watch along with everyone else.

"Do _something!_" Fiona screamed, beckoning me to break up the fight. I groaned in irritation and ran over to the girls. I pulled the shorter one by her waist, dragging her off of the other girl.

"Move, bitch!" she screamed, clocking me in the gut. I fell to the ground in pain as she jumped back on the girl.

"HELP!" I heard Fiona scream. I lay on the ground, clutching my stomach as the two girls fought gruesomely.

"It's just a damn play!" I managed to choke out, but I was completely ignored.

I heard loud footsteps and then all of a sudden the noise and fighting stopped.

"What, on _**earth **_is going on here?" Mr. Simpson screamed.

"This is chaos! Kids fighting and cussing us out, and this is second time that Eli has been injured during this whole ordeal." Fiona said, panicking.

A second later, I felt a hand rub through my hair. I looked up to see Imogen, rubbing her fingers through my hair and massaging it soothingly.

"I just got here, are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Umm…not really." I choked out. Mr. Simpson walked over to me and lent his hand out. I grabbed it and slowly stood up.

"This is very inappropriate behavior from all of you!" Mr. Simpson said, looking around at everyone's scared faces. I looked down to see Imogen standing next to me, a worried look on her face. I smiled at her to let her know that I was going to be okay, even though I felt terrible and bruised.

"Holly J was right!" Fiona said, running over to me.

"Get to class now everyone, or detention for all!" Mr. Simpson roared. Everyone scattered the halls, leaving Fiona, Imogen and I along with Mr. Simpson.

"Are you okay, bud?" Mr. Simpson asked. I nodded forcefully; I didn't want to deal with the nurse or anything.

"I'll be fine." I croaked. Mr. Simpson walked off to his office.

Fiona rubbed my back, looking apologetic.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you out there. That was something I've never seen before." Fiona apologized.

"It's cool." I breathed. "My stomach just hurts like hell. That girl sure has a mean punch."

Imogen stared at me and bit her lip.

"Well, what can I do to make you feel better?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know… I'm sure you'll come up with something." I smirked.

Imogen stood on her tippy toes and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. A spark went jolting down my spine as soon as her lips touched my cheek.

As Imogen pulled back, she looked up at me, smiling.

"Feel better?" she asked. I touched my cheek gently and smirked.

"Much." I said.

"Well if you two are done…"Fiona laughed. I turned to her and gave her the eye. She raised her hands in response.

"I'll see you guys later." Imogen said, grabbing her bag off of the ground. She didn't hesitate in flashing her gorgeous teeth before walking off towards class.

Fiona nudged my arm, knocking my thoughts.

"Ow, I'm still sore." I mocked jokingly. She laughed and started for the Drama Room. I followed after her.

"She totally likes you, Eli." Fiona said.

I kind of had that feeling, since she's _always _smiling when she's with me. Before I met her, I never smiled that much in a day before.

"You think so?" I asked.

"I _know _so. The question is; do you like her back?" Fiona pinned. I stared at her and sighed.

The truth was, I did. It wasn't the "rebound" type of feeling either…I honestly liked her. And I only had barely known her for a day.

"Yes, I like her." I said.

"Well duh!" Fiona laughed. I smirked at her.

"So, when are you going to ask her out on a _real _date?" Fiona asked, walking into the drama room.

"Let me get to know her first." I said, following after her.

"Eli, a pretty girl like that will get snatched up any day now. You better act fast." Fiona said.

"But she likes _me _remember?" I responded, shaking my head.

"Well yeah, but you're not the only cute guy at this school, Eli. And what's a better way to get to know someone than going on a date?" Fiona convinced.

I just stared at Fiona as we made our way over to Mrs. Hyser's desk where she sat, sipping coffee.

She looked up, and her eyes widened at the sight of us.

"Hello you two, how did the list go?" she asked casually. I narrowed my eyes at her and clutched my stomach.

"Let's just say that I'm experiencing some internal bleeding." I snapped.

"You knew this would happen!" Fiona accused her. Mrs. Hyser narrowed her eyes.

"I beg your pardon." She retorted.

"That's why you wanted _us _to put the list up, because you knew that those kids would be acting like wild animals! Holly J was right!" Fiona said.

Mrs. Hyser shook her head apologetically and sighed.

"Okay I'm sorry. I thought you guys would have it under control. I'm sorry, really." She said.

"Anyway, we have the list up, so that's all that matters." I said. Mrs. Hyser nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, exactly! Now we have to work on a schedule for practices, which I just discussed with Mr. Simpson." Mrs. Hyser said, walking over to the play stage. "Can you guys skip first period?"

"Absolutely." We both agreed. Mrs. Hyser laughed at our simultaneous agreement.

"Oh, and for the sake of our lives, can we add K.C to the 'behind the scenes' crew? That dude was _freaking out_." I asked.

"Sure, that should be alright." Mrs. Hyser replied. I sighed of relief.

…

After spending 45 minutes helping out Mrs. Hyser in the drama room, the bell rang, signaling second period. I was glad that I didn't have to sit in Mr. Bradley's math class.

As I was walking to class, I saw Imogen getting books out of her locker. I walked over to her, and when she noticed me she smiled.

"Hey there." She said.

"Hey." I replied, staring her up and down unknowingly.

Today, she looked kind of different. She had her hair down, and she was wearing a skirt without tights. She looked hot.

"So uh, what class do you have?" I said, eagerly trying to stop checking out her legs.

"Art." She said, grabbing her pencil bag. "It's one of the few classes that I actually like."

"Sounds cool. I have English. One of the few classes _I _actually like. Well, used to like…" I said, cursing myself for reflecting on bad memories.

"Why don't you like it anymore?" She asked curiously. I stared at her for a second at loss for words. That's when Owen, the school jock came passing by.

"Ohhhh baby!" He shouted, checking out Imogen. She stared at him and rolled her eyes.

"Why haven't I seen you around?" he asked, leaning up against the locker next to hers. Did he not see me there?

"Well, I don't know…busy I guess." She responded, not looking at him.

"Oh man that must suck. Your legs must be tired. Maybe they need some time apart." He said slowly. That brought a ping of jealousy and I sort of snapped.

"Dude, go find someone else to sexually harass, she's not interested!" I said. He stared at me like I was about to get my face pounded. I looked at Imogen, who was staring at me, looking shocked.

"You better back off." Owen warned, inching closer to me. But it didn't faze me.

"Or what?" I asked. That's when Imogen interrupted our argument.

"Okay, both of you need to stop." She said, putting her hands on both of our chests. "Look, you seem nice, but I'm really _not _interested." She said, facing Owen. He scrunched his nose and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." He said, walking away without a word more.

She turned to me and sighed.

"Sorry about losing my temper like that." I said, looking away.

"Don't be." She said gently, staring at me in amazement.

"I'd like to say this doesn't happen a lot, but it does." She said, as we began walking toward the art room.

"Oh… I don't see why not. Any body would love to be with a girl like you." I admitted. She stared at me and smiled, but quickly looked away.

"But uh, I seem to only attract complete jerks." She said. I shook my head.

"Well, I guess I'm a jerk." I said, almost as low as a whisper. She turned to me and her eyes widened in happiness.

"What was that?" she asked. I stared at her and licked my lips.

"Well, you said you only attract jerks, well I guess I'm a jerk." I responded.

"I attract you?" she asked, smiling. I nodded my head in response.

She giggled happily and played with the side of her binder.

"Well…you attract me too." She said nervously.

"Don't you think we should do something about this attraction?" I asked, smugly. She stared at me and chewed on her lip, fighting a smile.

"Yes Mr. Goldsworthy, I do." She responded. I grabbed her hand and kissed it softly, not removing my eyes from hers. She gasped silently.

"I'm thinking, you and me… tomorrow night at this _other _hangout… Little Miss Steaks." I replied. She smiled and nodded her head quickly.

"It's a date." She said.

"It's a date." I confirmed.

"Well, this is my stop." She said, motioning to the art room. "Here's my number."

She grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled some digits on it, handing it to me. I greatly took it and smirked.

"See you later." I said, as she walked in the doorway. She waved at me in response.

Oh crap, I forgot that _I _needed to get to class before the bell rang. I started power walking, hoping I'd reach Dawes' class in time.

_**RIIIIINNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!**_

Shit.

…

"Everyone needs to clear their after school plans if they got accepted into the Drama Club! First meeting takes place right after school today!" Holly J announced at lunch time. I walked out of the cafeteria with my tray, heading over to my usual lunch seat outside by the tree. Hopefully Adam would be waiting for me like he promised.

I missed hanging out with him, because ever since I got picked for the play writer, I neglected his company. I felt bad.

I walked outside and noticed Adam sitting at the table by himself.

I walked over and sat down next to him, placing my tray next to his.

"Hey man." Adam said, looking over at me.

"Hey. How have you been?" I asked awkwardly.

"Eh, alright I guess…" he responded.

"Look, I'm sorry that I haven't been hanging around lately, but I've just been really busy with this play and all." I apologized. He nodded.

"Its okay… I've been hanging out with Clare a little." He responded. Hearing her name brought an uncomfortable jolt in my stomach.

"Oh…er, that's cool. How is she?" I asked.

"She's fine. Her and Jake have been going out for a few weeks now." Adam responded, chewing on a carrot.

"Is that right?" I said sadly.

Adam looked over at me and sighed.

"She misses you." He said after a minute.

I looked at Adam and shook my head.

"Please. Why would she miss me? She has her precious _Jake_." I whispered. Adam put his hand on my back and patted it.

"She told me. She said things have been awkward since school started back, but she misses the friendship that you guys had." Adam said.

"Well I miss her too, Adam. But like I told her a _long _time ago, I can't just be friends with her. I can't." I said, my nerves eating out at me. I still didn't understand why talking about Clare did this to me.

"It's okay, dude. Let's just talk about something else." Adam said.

"Look, I'd love to stay and talk but… I have something to do." I said, feeling my lungs tightening up.

"Other than eating lunch?" Adam asked suspiciously.

"Yeah um, play stuff." I lied, my breathing growing heavy. I could feel my face growing hot; stupid anxiety attacks.

"Figures." Adam said, turning back to his lunch sadly. I felt bad about this, but I couldn't have an attack in front of him. It'd be too much.

I scurried off, running into the school and directly to the men's restroom. I locked myself in a stall and began wheezing in and out. I tried to take deep breaths to help my breathing come back, but my lungs kept tightening.

I tried swallowing continuously but nothing helped. I burst out of the stall and ran to the sinks. I ran my hands under the faucet and splashed the cold water on my face repeatedly, which helped me calm down a bit.

I slammed my hands on the sides of the sink as my breathing was coming back painfully slow. My breathing was hitched and it felt like a weight had been lifted off of my chest once I took a regular breath. I turned around and slid down to the floor, my face drenched.

If I was going to keep having these intense anxiety attacks, life would be hell.

…

The rest of the day was alright, I tried to avoid Adam as much as possible. I wouldn't know what to say to him after I ran off on him like that.

I walked to the Drama room as soon as the bell had rung, like Mrs. Hyser expected me to. When I walked in, I walked straight to her desk, where Fiona was standing.

"Okay you two, today is the day that we're going to read the play's plot to the actors! Oh and don't worry, Eli. I notified Mr. Guthrie that he'll be apart of Drama Club. He was MORE than thrilled, actually." Mrs. Hyser said. I nodded my head and Mrs. Hyser walked over and grabbed the plot that I gave her and handed it to me.

"I'm so excited!" Fiona clapped.

"Same." I agreed.

I was still a little shaken up from earliers anxiety attack, but I was able to concentrate a little bit more once I took my mind off of it.

Moments later, the Drama Room started filling up with the new drama club. I smiled at the turnout. _Everyone _showed up.

Imogen walked up to me and gave me a hug, which I responded to happily. I felt ten times better once I had my arms wrapped around her. She pulled back and smiled, smoothing out loose hairs in my face.

"So, what are we doing here?" she asked.

"You'll find out soon enough." I smirked. She rolled her eyes laughing and went to go join the rest of the drama club.

After Mrs. Hyser had everyone settled down, she began to talk.

"Okay everyone, the reason why you are all here is because we have our first productions plot, and we are going to lay it out on all of you, and get your opinions!" she announced. Everyone nodded in agreement.

I walked up to the stage and took the piece of paper out of my pocket.

"Okay everyone, this is the plot." I started. "_The girl with the defined look, she seems to have it all. She's smart, beautiful and talented. Truthfully, something is haunting her deep down. When she meets someone new, will that person learn the truth behind the girl?"_

I finished and looked up at everyone, examining their responses. Everyone was nodding their heads and smiling. K.C started clapping loudly, which caused the rest of the drama club to join in. It felt so good to know how everyone felt about my idea.

I searched for Imogen, and when I found her, I wasn't happy with what I saw.

She sat there, looking at me with a very pained expression. When she caught me staring, she looked away, sighing sadly. Her eyes were watery and she was rubbing her arm as if something was bothering her.

What was going on?

**Author's Note: OKAY GUYS, DID YOU LIKE THAT? **** What did you think about the whole "Putting the list up and getting attacked by a million highschoolers" thing? Haha, let me know in some reviews!**

**BTW, since I did get TONS of reviews, the surprise is:**

**I'M GOING TO WRITE A FULL CHAPTER IN IMOGEN'S P.O.V, which will be REALLY interesting ;) **

**Anyway, since I got way more than 12 reviews last chapter, lets try again with I'd say….15 reviews? Can I get that many for this chapter? We'll see! I love you guys so much! **

**Follow me on Twitter, I follow back: AshleyMocha12**


	5. Internal Feelings

**Author's Note: Okay guys thanks for the reviews :D They're all soo lovely, and I appreciate them all **** I lovee the long ones, thanks guy **

**Anyway, the Imogen's P.O.V chapter will be like two chapters away from this one, the time has to be right **

**Enjoy chapter Five & Review! **

**Btw, I own Imogen's favorite writer, Miriam Douplet. **

Mrs. Hyser walked up next to me and patted my back, a huge grin on her face.

"Great job." She whispered in my ear. I forced a smile to her as I walked off of the stage.

Mrs. Hyser grabbed the microphone and began discussing production details to the drama club, as I made my way over to Imogen. I had to see what was bothering her. She saw me coming and she straightened up her face, which was slightly red.

I sat down next to her and she turned her head away, as if she was trying to hide her face from me.

"Is something wrong?" I asked cautiously. She gulped nervously and slowly turned her head back to me.

"Umm…no. I uh, I just… the plot of the play is just so sad… that's all." She whispered, turning her head away again.

I bit my lip, trying to think of what to say next.

"Well it's not exactly supposed to be a fairy tale, but I'm planning on adding happiness in it." I said. She turned back to me, tears threatening to slide out of her eyes.

"There's going to be happiness?" she whispered, hopefully. I nodded my head, grinning gently.

"Yeah." I said softly. She smiled and wiped her tears away.

"I bet you think I'm a nut job." She said, laughing uneasily.

I stared at her curiously and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Why would I think that?" I asked softly.

"Well, I can give you a few reasons…" she said, trailing off. I smirked and shook my head.

"If anything, I'm a nut job. And Imogen, I really like you. Don't doubt that for a second, okay?" I said reassuringly. She stared at me and sighed, a small smile forming on her face.

"I really like you too." She said quietly, still smiling.

"I'm glad to hear that." I laughed. She stared me up and down and grinned.

"So umm, how did you come up with the play idea?" she asked awkwardly.

I swallowed nervously, oh shit. How was I going to tell her it was about _her? _Major no no. I quickly thought of a lie.

"Well… I dreamed it?" I lied. She looked at me and nodded quickly.

"O-oh." She stuttered, smiling to herself. I sighed of relief.

"Any questions?" Mrs. Hyser asked, bringing both of our attentions to her.

"Did you hear anything that she said?" Imogen asked. I shook my head.

Imogen reluctantly raised her hand, all eyes on her.

"Yes, Ms. Moreno?" Mrs. Hyser asked.

"C-could you repeat that?" Imogen stuttered. Mrs. Hyser looked confused.

"Repeat what?" she asked.

"Um…Everything?" Imogen asked, causing the class to giggle. Mrs. Hyser sighed annoyingly and adjusted her glasses.

"We will have practices Monday-Thursday after school. It will be over at 5:00, so make sure you have a ride, or some form of transportation." Mrs. Hyser said.

"Umm, when do we get cast for parts in _this _play?" Imogen asked innocently. I stared at her, her beauty was mind blowing. She was just _so _beautiful.

"We have that list taken care of, and we are going to tell all of you about your parts at our next meeting, which will be next week… but I think I could give you the pleasure of telling you _your _part in the play." Mrs. Hyser smiled.

"Okay…" Imogen answered nervously.

"You will be the leading lady!" Mrs. Hyser said, proudly.

"_What? _I wanted to be the leading lady!" K.C screamed, jumping up.

What the fuck? I was worried about K.C…

"K.C, there is no possible way that you can be the leading _lady." _Mrs. Hyser told him, alarmed. He stared at her and sighed angrily.

"Well what makes _her _possible enough to be a leading lady?" He hollered, causing all of our eyes to go wide at him.

"Maybe because she's a lady, and not a crazed maniac like you!" I retorted. K.C laid in the fetal position and whimpered.

"I want my MOM!" He shouted. What the hell…

Fiona walked over to comfort him, as the rest of us turned our attention back to Mrs. Hyser.

"So Imogen, what do you say?" She asked.

"Umm…yeah, I say that's great." Imogen said, smiling modestly.

"Great!" Mrs. Hyser said, smiling happily. I looked at Imogen, who looked like she was about to pass out. Her eyes were red and she looked a little green.

"Hey, you look sick." I whispered to her.

She looked over at me and smiled forcefully.

"I uh-, I've been feeling kind of sick since lunch, excuse me." She murmured before running out of the drama room.

I looked after her and sighed. I really, truly wanted to know what was going on with her, and I was determined to find out.

…

I drove home quickly, Imogen's number clutched in my hand. As soon as I pulled up in front of my house, I exited the car and ran up the steps.

I unlocked the door and ran in the house.

"Cece, Bull Frog?" I yelled, seeing if anyone was home. I got no response.

Figures. For parents who have such a dysfunctional kid, they're never home.

I ran upstairs to my room, and slammed the door shut. I grabbed my cell phone off of my head board and flipped it open.

I unfolded the note Imogen gave me, and went to the 'new contact' page in my phone.

_Imogen Moreno: 555-2130_

I sighed happily as I saved her number to my phone.

I debated on whether or not to call her, but I chose not to. I figured that she'd probably need some space, since she got sick.

I wondered if it was the lunch food that got her sick, but I wouldn't have known because I didn't eat.

Speaking of not eating, I realized that I was pretty starving.

I walked downstairs, my phone in hand and I walked to the kitchen. I opened the refrigerator and sighed as I didn't see much food.

I pulled the carton of milk out and closed the fridge. I walked to the cabinet and pulled out a glass, setting it on the table and pouring my milk.

After I filled it to the tip, I took a tiny sip, and immediately spit it out.

"What the fuck is this shit?" I screamed, checking the expiration date on the carton. I sighed as the milk was well over a week over date.

I dumped the glass of milk out and slammed the glass in the sink, putting a small crack in it. I grabbed my phone and went to Adam's contact card.

_Adam, I'm starving. I'm sorry for bailing on you like that. Want to come over, I'm ordering a pizza. _

I quickly sent him the text message and walked into the living room, collapsing on the couch.

A moment later, my phone buzzed and I quickly opened the text.

_Sorry, I have to stay with Drew…mom's orders. I'm sure you'll find someone else to hang with, Fiona perhaps…_

I groaned sadly as I finished reading Adam's text. He was really upset with me, and right now I don't think there's anything I can do about that.

"Looks like dinner for one." I sighed, dialing Mr. Cheesys Pizza. The phone rang twice before a woman answered.

"Mr. Cheesys pizza, this is Hazel." The woman answered.

"Yeah hi, can I get your large pepperoni pizza?" I asked, irritated.

"Sure, pick-up or delivery?" She asked, nicely.

"Well, I don't too much feel like getting off of my ass, so I'll go with delivery." I answered. There was silence, and then the lady finally started talking again.

"Okay…your address please?" she asked uncomfortably.

I chuckled and gave her my address. Moments later, we hung up the phone. I saw my laptop sitting on the coffee table, so I grabbed it.

I opened it and turned it on. Once it was booted up, I signed on to my Face Range account.

It said that I had 4 notifications.

_K.C Guthrie likes your status: _We have a great drama club, I'm confident about this.

_Fiona Coyne commented on your status:_ _This is going to be great! great job on the plot xoxo_

_Alli Bhandari tagged a photo of you:_

Alli? Since when did a take a picture with her? I clicked on the picture and sighed as I saw what it was. It was a picture of me from earlier, after the girl had elbowed me in the stomach. I was lying on the ground, my eyes squeezed shut. I looked at the picture description, and cursed under my breath.

_Description: look at this emo loser! He can't even take a punch from a girl! _

The picture has 7 likes and numerous comments saying things such as "lol" and "damn, that's tragic." I took the liberty, and commented myself.

"_Nice shot, Alli! I'm considering setting this as my profile picture. Oh, btw… you're a dumb bitch who will go no where in life." _

I smiled as I submitted the comment.

I went back to check my last notification, and I grinned when I saw what it was.

4. _Imogen Moreno is requesting to be friends On Face Range._

I clicked accept, and then I clicked on her profile.

Her profile picture looked as if it was taken professionally. It was basically an upper body shot, and her back was leaning against a table, and she was holding flowers. Her hair was down and wavy, and she was wearing a yellow sundress, which showed her cleavage. It was beautiful picture, and I made sure to remind myself to comment it.

I looked on her wall, at her newest status.

_She cries to herself, the only thing she can do. There's no one to turn to, no one to hold her and tell her its going to be okay. She hides the pain, and disguises the fear, hoping one day, she won't have to pretend to be happy – Miriam Douplet_

I re read the status, and a ping of sadness washed over me. It was posted five minutes ago, so I decided to comment it.

_Eli Goldsworthy- Sounds pretty depressing. _

I posted my comment and waited to see if she would reply. Minutes later, I got a notification.

_Imogen Moreno commented on her status: Lol, it's a poem from the great Miriam Douplet. She speaks so much truth._

I smirked to myself. She likes Miriam? Well, I guess Miriam was okay, but Chuck was much better.

_Eli Goldsworthy- She's alright I guess, but not better than Chuck P. he's way deeper. _

I commented, hoping to get her riled up enough to fight back.

She replied pretty quickly.

_Imogen Moreno- Chuck? You have to be kidding… he's way more depressing than Miriam, and plus he's demented._

I chuckled at her comment, and quickly commented back.

_Eli Goldsworthy- I.M me Moreno, this is war. _

A second later, I got a Notification telling me that Imogen liked my comment.

Knocking sounded from the door, causing me to jump a little.

I sat my lap top to the side, and walked to the door, opening it.

A girl stood there, holding my box of pizza in her left hand.

"Are you Hazel?" I asked.

She pointed to her name tag and shook her head.

"Nope, I'm Alex. And don't bother trying to invite me in, I'm a lesbian." She shot back. I smirked and grabbed the pizza box.

"How much?" I asked.

"15.20." she responded. I grabbed my wallet and handed her the money. She thanked me and exited the porch.

I closed the door and sat the pizza on the table, grabbing my laptop.

I had an I.M at the bottom of my screen, From an Immy23. I clicked on it and smiled, since it was Imogen.

_**Immy23- **__So, you think that Chuck is better than Miriam? _

_**EliGold4- **__well absolutely ;)_

_**Immy23-**__ please, I can pretty much guarantee you that Miriam is more spiritually well than Chuck _

I chuckled at her, and attempted to change the subject.

_**EliGold4- **__Okay I see we're not going agree on this, so let's talk about something else…what are you doing? _

_**Immy23-**__ drawing… I just finished a painting that I was working on for two weeks. After I finish a painting, I draw it on paper to add to my portfolio. _

_**EliGold4-**__ wow, that's amazing. I'd love to see some of your paintings. _

_**Immy23-**__ I'd love to show you ;) so what are you doing?_

_**EliGold4-**__ having dinner, by myself like always… _

Imogen didn't respond right away, but after a minute she finally did.

_**Immy23- **__I know how you feel…_

I pondered that for a moment and sighed sadly.

_**EliGold4- **__well, tomorrow night, neither of us will be having dinner alone _

_**Immy23- **__I'm looking forward to it 3 well, I have to go… don't forget to save my number _

_**-Immy23 has logged off-**_

"Already done." I smirked.

…

"Honey, are you awake?" Cece asked, waking me out of my sleep. I could see the sun shining from the curtains, telling me that I overslept.

Sometime during the night, I traveled up to my room, so now I lay in my bed tangled in the covers.

I opened my eyes to see Cece easing her way into my room through the door.

I sat up slowly and stared at her.

"Where were you guys last night?" I asked sternly.

"I was at grandmas; she was lonely so I stayed with her until she fell asleep. And your dad was working late at the Radio Show. I was sure that you got my note." Cece said, sitting on my bed.

"I didn't get the note because you didn't leave one." I snapped. Cece sighed and ran her fingers through my hair.

"Baby boy what's wrong?" she whispered. I looked away from her, trying not to get too emotional.

"I just wish you guys would be around more." I whispered back. She pulled me into her arms and rubbed my back as I rested my head on her shoulder.

"Baby, I'm sorry. I understand your going through a rough time and I'm trying to be here, but you know your dad has to work and-

"And what's your excuse?" I shot back, jumping out of her arms and out of the bed. She sighed shakily and looked around my room.

"Eli." She whispered.

"Just get out." I whispered, my throat going dry, my palms getting sweaty.

"Eli!" she responded.

"Just, get out please!" I screamed, my lungs tightening up. Oh shit, I felt an anxiety attack coming on, and this one was going to be worse than any I've _ever _had.

Cece's eyes grew wide as I slid down the wall, wheezing and clutching my chest. This felt worse than an anxiety attack. It felt like I was getting my fucking heart ripped out, and I had no idea where all of this came from.

"Eli! Baby are you okay?" she screamed, running to my side.

My throat was so dry, that I couldn't talk. I was gasping for air, but I couldn't breathe. I couldn't feel anything but pain.

My face grew redder and redder as I wheezed harder.

Cece anxiously clung to me, grabbing all over me, not sure what to do. Tears fell from her eyes as she wiped her fingers over my eyes.

That's when I realized that I was crying.

"Ma I can't breath!" I wheezed painfully, tears burning my eyes. I squeezed them shut as my lungs squeezed the life out of me.

"I'll call 911!" She cried, running out of the room.

At that moment, I didn't even care. I slowly felt myself fading away, everything going black around me.

…

I slowly opened my eyes to a blinding headache. My vision was blurry, but I could make out a white room. I blinked and took a deep breath as my vision cleared up.

I saw Cece sitting on the bed, holding my hand. She was looking down and crying to herself.

"Mom…where are we?" I asked, my voice raspy. She looked up anxiously and smiled through her tears as she saw me awake.

She pulled me into her chest and smoothed my hair.

"Baby you scared me." She cried through my hair.

My head was spinning, I was scared and I didn't know what was going on.

She pulled back and ran her fingertips down my face.

"You had a _severe_ anxiety attack. It was so bad, that… that…" Cece said, choking on a sob.

"That what?" I whispered.

She looked at me, her bloodshot eyes brimming with more tears.

"That I could have lost you." She whispered painfully. Those words shot a tingle down my spine, and once again my throat went dry. I could have…died? Well, it wouldn't be the first time…

She squeezed my hand and cried harder, as I watched painfully.

"No… no I can't die from a stupid anxiety attack. I get those all of the time." I managed to choke out

She stared at me, her eyes widened.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"I didn't think anything of it. They usually went away after a few minutes." I sighed.

"What about your medicine, have you been taking it?" she asked. I shook my head slightly, causing her to look away from me. I felt that I didn't need to take my stupid medicine, it's not like it worked…

"Baby, it wasn't _just _an anxiety attack… your lungs become very weak when you start having them, causing your heart to beat irregularly, which is very fatal. You can basically say that you had a heart attack." She said, turning back to me. I sighed and looked away.

"When can I go home?" I asked.

"The nurse said you can whenever you wake up and you're feeling better. You can stay as long as you need to." Mom responded.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"3:36." She answered. My eyes widened and I turned to her.

"Mom, do you have my cell phone?" I asked quickly. She dug in her pocket and pulled it out.

"Yeah, I thought you'd like to call Adam when you woke up." She said, handing it to me. I grabbed it thankfully and went directly to Imogen's contact card.

I pressed the call button and waited patiently for her to pick up.

"Hello?" she answered a minute later.

"Imogen…" I sighed, my voice still shaky.

"Who's this?" she questioned. That's when I remembered that she didn't have my number yet.

I cleared my throat and swallowed.

"It's Eli." I said, trying to bring my voice back to normal.

"Eli! Hey, are you alright? You sound different… and you weren't at school today." She said quickly, with worry. I sighed and cleared my throat again.

"Umm…yeah I'm fine, I just had… a bad asthma attack." I lied. I looked at Cece's face, and she was looking very unpleased with my lie.

"Oh my gosh! What happened?" She asked.

"I um, it just kind of came out of nowhere. I'm in the hospital, so that's why I missed school."

The line went quiet, and then she spoke up again.

"Well, I'm so relieved that your okay… I guess we can have our date another time. You need to rest." Imogen said, sounding disappointed.

"No, I'm fine… we can have our date tonight. I'll pick you up at 8." I reassured.

"Eli, are you sure?" she asked.

"I'm positive." I answered.

"Okay…I'll see you at 8." She said, and I could feel her smiling.

"See you then." I smirked.

I closed my phone and stared at my mom, who looked angry.

"Who was that?" she asked, trying to keep her composure.

"Um… this girl, her name is Imogen." I answered.

"Imogen? Why haven't you told me about this 'Imogen' girl?" Cece questioned, folding her arms.

"I didn't think I had to…" I breathed.

Cece sighed and bit her lip.

"You're planning on going on a date? Tonight?" She asked, begging me to change my mind with her voice.

"Well why not?" I questioned.

She narrowed her eyes at me.

"You almost died, Eli that's why not!" she snapped, instantly regretting it. She covered her hand over her mouth and sighed sadly. "I'm sorry."

I pushed back raging tears and stared at my mother.

"I feel fine, and I'm going on that date. Please do me a favor, and tell the nurse that I'd like to go home now."

…

_**A few hours later**_

I sprayed my cologne all over my body, as Cece stood in the doorway and watched. I was almost ready; I just needed to apply my guy liner. I turned to Cece, who was staring at me sadly.

"You look nice." She said.

I was wearing a grey, linen, long sleeve shirt, with some black jeans, which were surprisingly not skinny jeans. I had a black, silky tie and my black dress shoes.

"Thanks." I mumbled, walking into my bathroom. She followed me in, standing in the bathroom doorway.

"Mom, this isn't what I meant by wanting to spend time with you. I do want to get dressed in privacy." I said, placing my finger underneath my eye while applying eye liner.

"I'm just worried, that's all." Cece said, laughing uneasily.

After I finished applying my eye liner, I grabbed my phone off of the sink. I went to Imogen's contact card, so I could send her a text.

_Hey, I need your address. –Eli_

I waited for her to respond, and then my phone finally buzzed.

_2017 Bartley rd… just honk the horn… :]-Imogen_

I read the text and then closed my phone.

"Okay, I'm about to go." I told Cece, exiting my room. She quickly followed after me, as we were walking down the stairs.

"I need to you to be safe, and make sure you notify me _immediately _if-

"If what? Nothing is going to happen!" I said, walking out of the front door, dad's keys in hand.

I didn't bother looking back as I climbed in dad's BMW.

I started the car and pulled out of the driveway, starting on my way towards Imogen's house. It wasn't too far from mine.

After a couple minutes of driving, Bartley rd. came into view.

As I pulled in front of her house, I studied it a bit. It was pretty big, had double doors in the front and a long walkway leading to the door. It was gated in, so I had to park outside of the gate.

I honked my horn like Imogen asked, but nobody came outside. I waited a minute, and the honked the horn again.

A minute later, I saw the front door open. I couldn't really see, but I saw Imogen, in a white dress walk out, followed by a woman about the same height as her.

I couldn't really make out what I was seeing, but it looked like Imogen was getting yelled at by the woman. I could tell that Imogen didn't look happy, and I was wondering if that woman was her mom, or her sister or something.

I noticed that Imogen walked away from the woman, and the woman was still saying something as Imogen stormed away. Imogen walked up to the gate, a frown on her face. She opened it, and smiled when she saw me.

"Hey." I said, walking to the passenger door to open it for her.

"Hey there." She said, still smiling.

"Is everything alright?" I asked her, as she climbed in.

She stared toward the front door of her house, where the woman still stood. She had a very scared, sad look on her face, but then she turned to me and smiled.

"Everything's perfect. Let's get this show on the road."

**Author's Note: Okay guys, I know you can't die from an anxiety attack, so I just want you guys to know that Eli basically had a mini heart attack, okay? Alright, anywho, LEAVE ME SOME REVIEWS! I didn't reach 15 last chapter **** so lets try for…10 this chapter. Okay? Thanks guys I love you!**

**Follow me on Twitter; I Follow Back: AshleyMocha12**


	6. Date Night

**Author's Note: Okay, so I know all of us Imogeli/Emogen shippers were disappointed due to last nights ep, but I still ship them, and I'm going to keep writing FF for them. Please stick with my story, its guna be good! **

**Enjoy **** & Review!**

I walked around to the driver's side and climbed in the car, closing the door after me.

I looked over at Imogen and smiled. She was wearing a beautiful white dress that ended above her knees, which had silver sparkles all over it and showed a fair amount of cleavage. She wore her hair down, which fell over her shoulders in perfectly twisted waves. Her make-up was flawless, the way her eyes shined in the light. She was purely gorgeous; she was luminous. She looked over at me and smiled back.

"You look beautiful, Imogen." I sighed, still staring at her in awe. She smiled modestly, a pink blush forming on her face.

"Thank you. And you look very handsome." She said back, still blushing.

I smirked in response and re started the car. I looked back over at Imogen and noticed that she was still staring at the woman in the door way. Imogen had a very sad look on her face, and I got kind of worried.

"Who's that?" I asked, breaking the silence.

Imogen turned to me, her brown eyes full of fear that she was eagerly trying to hide.

"That's um, that's my mother." She said quietly. I pulled out of the driveway, pulling onto the road.

"Were you guys arguing or something?" I cautiously asked. She turned her head to face the window and sighed.

"Yeah. It's no big deal though…" she whispered. I nodded slowly and turned on the radio. Paisley Jacket by Dead Hand came on, which immediately lightened up the mood.

"Can I turn this up?" Imogen smiled.

"Turn away." I smirked. Imogen blasted the song, nodding her head and mouthing the words. I nodded my head along with the song too, screaming out lyrics here and there. Imogen turned her body so that her back was against the window and she hit my arm, gesturing me to look at her while I stopped at the red light. I looked over at her, and smirked as she began to sing.

"I see your pattern, and I can't match it! Just trace the lines of, your paisley jacket!" she sang, moving her arms all around.

I started to sing the next verse, pretending like I had an air guitar, which was kind of hard to do in the small truck.

She giggled happily, singing along with me. We were having so much fun, and the date hadn't even begun yet.

**HONNNNKKKKKKK! **

"Move it, Ass wholes!" A man screamed from behind us. That's when I realized that the light had turned green and we were parked ahead of everyone.

I quickly began driving again, as me and Imogen laughed uncontrollably.

"Oh my gosh, that was so fun!" Imogen said, out of breath.

"I can get used to that." I smirked, watching as she gave me a flushed smile in return.

We pulled up in front of Little Miss Steaks, searching for a parking spot.

As soon as I found one, I pulled into it. I opened my door, as did Imogen.

"Stop, I got it." I said, as Imogen paused. I climbed out of the car and strolled over to the passenger side, opening the door for Imogen as she stepped out, her heels clanking against the pavement.

"You're such a gentlemen." She smiled.

"Well, you know." I smirked, giving her a nudge. I grabbed my keys from my pocket and pressed the lock button, locking the car.

I linked arms with Imogen as we entered the restaurant, staring around.

Holly J strolled over to greet us in her work costume.

"Well don't you two look nice." She smiled, grabbing tons of napkins.

"Thanks." Imogen replied, as I smiled in response.

"Are you two an item now?" Holly J asked. Imogen and I stared at her blankly in response, neither of us knowing the answer.

"Uh…" I began, my face growing red, a result of my nervousness.

We were thankfully saved by K.C's loud greeting, as him and Marisol came passing by.

"WHAT'S UP GUYS!" he yelled.

"Hey, K.C…" I responded awkwardly.

"All of you work here?" Imogen asked excitedly.

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome." Marisol said, checkin K.C out.

"Well that's really cool. You guys should totally get me a job here." Imogen laughed.

"Trust me, you're too pretty to work." Holly J complimented.

I agreed with that one hundred percent.

"Well, thanks." Imogen replied. We all stared around awkwardly for a second, until Holly J broke the silence.

"So Marisol, can you take care of them tonight? I have to tend to an 80-year olds birthday party, and let me tell you… these women are _tough. _They even recommended that we get K.C to be their stripper." Holly J explained.

"Which I would have greatly agreed to." K.C chipped in, causing us to roll our eyes.

"Yes, I'll be your waiter for today." Marisol smiled, grabbing two menus. "Right this way."

She began walking us over to the side of the restaurant which held several tables for two. There were many other couples gathered over there, sharing sweet moments. I smiled at the thought of maybe one day being able to call Imogen my girlfriend, sharing moments like that.

"Here you are." Marisol said, stopping at a nice, clean table. I walked over and pulled Imogen's chair out for her, receiving a pink blush in return. I then walked over to my seat and sat down.

"Here are your menu's, I will be right back to take your drink orders." She said, placing our menu's in front of us. She walked away after.

Imogen opened her menu and browsed around.

"So, what's good here?" she asked, still browsing the menu.

"Everything!" I said excitedly. She glanced up at me, giggling.

"Well uh…that narrows it down." She laughed. I chuckled and opened my menu.

"The Onion fried burgers are genius! The steaks are always grilled _perfectly! _Ummm…if you love grilled food, you'll love anything here. I promise." I said. She closed her menu and sighed.

"The burgers look so juicy and delicious, but I've always been a big fan of Steak! I think I'll try the steak." She responded.

"Good choice. I'll get the burger like I always do. I wouldn't mind letting you get a nice little taste." I said, whispering the last part very perverted. She caught on to the joke, giggling.

"I wouldn't mind getting a little taste either." She winked, causing me to blush unintentionally. I looked away, smirking.

"I'm guessing that you'll want a sprite?" I asked, looking back at her.

She turned to the drinks page and browsed the small section.

"Umm… this strawberry lemonade looks very good. I think I'll take that." She said, closing the menu.

"Nice!" I said, closing mine too.

A second later, Marisol returned with a pen and pad in her hands.

"Are you guys ready to order your drinks?" she asked. I nodded my head.

"Two strawberry lemonades." I said. Marisol scribbled that on her pad.

"We're ready to order our food." Imogen said.

"Okay." Marisol smiled, bringing the pen head back to the paper.

"I'll take the Onion fried double cheeseburger with a side of fries." I said. Marisol scribbled that down and looked over at Imogen.

"I'll have the Steak, fully cooked, with a dash of lemon. You can do that right?" Imogen asked.

"Yes, we can." Marisol laughed, scribbling it down.

"For your side?" she asked.

"Um… mashed potatoes." Imogen answered. Marisol wrote it down and looked back at us.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"No, we're fine. We might want some Dessert later though." I responded. Marisol nodded and walked off.

I turned to Imogen, who was smiling at me.

"I know I said this before, but you're really beautiful, Imogen." I said softly. She blushed intensely, grinning.

"And I know I said _this _before, but _you_ are really handsome." She responded, resting her hand on top of mine, which lay flat on the table.

I smirked in response, hoping that Imogen would keep her lovely, soft hand on top of mine.

"So, where did you move here from?" I asked.

"I moved here from Montreal, which is all the way in Quebec Canada." She said.

"Did you like it there?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulders, looking down.

"I guess… I liked it there for a while, but there are so many unpleasant memories there that I'd like to, you know… put in the past." She said with an ounce of sadness. I grabbed her hand that lay on top of mine, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Whatever it is, consider it forgotten." I smirked. She looked into my eyes and nodded, sighing deeply.

"Forgotten." She whispered, forcing a smile.

I rubbed my thumb around in circles on her hand, and she giggled.

"What?" I smirked.

"That feels good." She said, giggling after.

"Good." I said, as I kept doing it.

"Eli, I have a confession to make." Imogen said, causing me to tense up. I stared into her eyes, waiting to hear what she had to say.

"Okay." I said awkwardly.

"I know we've barely known each other for a week, but I honestly _really _like you. I've liked you ever since I saw you walk over to Mrs. Hyser and me. I know you might think that's kind of-

"I really like you too, Imogen. So much!" I said quickly, interrupting her. I was completely relieved that that's all she had to tell me, and it was nice to know that she felt the same for me that I felt for her.

She looked at me, happily surprised.

"You do?" she smiled. I nodded.

"I told you that, remember?" I said. She nodded and sighed.

"Yeah, but I figured that you were probably just saying that." She confessed.

"No, I meant it. You are just…amazing." I breathed, as I continued to rub circles on her palm.

"I hope we get much closer." She said, smiling gently.

"I know we will." I grinned, looking deep into her eyes.

She repeatedly stared from my lips to my eyes, back and forth.

"Here are your drinks, food should be here in a jiffy." Marisol said, placing our drinks in front of us. Way to ruin a moment.

"Thanks." Imogen said, blushing embarrassingly. Marisol winked at the both of us and walked away. Imogen slipped her hand out of mine, and grabbed her drink, sipping at it anxiously.

"Do you like it?" I asked. She nodded her head and mumbled an "mmmm hmmm" while still sipping at the glass. I decided to grab mine and give it a taste, since I had never tasted their Lemonade before.

I brought the drink to my lips, and immediately spit it out, causing awkward glares. I had a habit of doing that.

I turned to Imogen, who had a shocked look on her face.

"I-I'm sorry." I stuttered. She giggled softly and grabbed a napkin, dabbing the corners of my mouth.

"Do _you _like the drink?" she asked, laughing.

"Not really." I smirked. She reached over and grabbed it, sipping at the same place that I was drinking it.

"Be careful, I have aids." I joked. She stopped drinking and stared at me, smiling.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." She winked.

Damn, I didn't even know how to respond to that. She continued to drink my strawberry lemonade, staring at me occasionally.

"You should order a drink that you like." Imogen said after a minute.

"Good idea." I smirked, getting up from the table. "I'll be right back."

"Okay." Imogen said, setting the glass on the table. I walked over to the bar, where K.C stood behind.

"Hey, K.C." I greeted.

"Sup!" He said.

"Can I get another drink? I'd like a-

"Excuse me, but you got my drink order wrong." An old woman interrupted, walking up beside me. K.C stared at her angrily.

"I'M TALKING TO A CUSTOMER, WAIT IN LINE OLD LADY!" He screamed. The old lady gasped and stood behind me. I shook my thoughts and sighed.

"Can I get a Coke?" I asked quickly. K.C walked over and grabbed a glass, placing it under the Coke dispenser. He filled it up, and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I mumbled before walking back over to Imogen, who was waiting patiently.

I sat down and chugged some of the coke down.

"I heard yelling, everything okay?" she asked.

"Yep. It's just K.C being…well, K.C." I stated, causing her to laugh.

"Well now that you have your drink, let's enjoy our date, shall we." Imogen smiled.

"Agreed." I chuckled.

A minute later, Marisol brought over our food, which smelled every ounce of delicious.

She set it in front of us, leaving extra napkins and silverware.

"Enjoy. I'll be back to check up on you two later." Marisol smiled, walking away.

"Ohhhh my gosh, this smells delicious." Imogen said, taking in the scent of the steak.

I opened my burger, squirting ketchup in it.

"My burger smells better." I joked, placing the bun back on top.

"I bet my steak _tastes_ better." Imogen retorted, slicing it with her knife.

I smirked before I took a large bite of the burger, chewing it tauntingly slow.

"Mmmm, this is SOOOO good." I chewed, closing my eyes to make it more dramatic.

Imogen giggled before sticking the fork which had a juicy piece of steak on it into her mouth.

"Oh my, this is perfect." Imogen said, slicing another piece of steak.

"I'm glad you like it. That means I accomplished something." I said, before taking another bite.

"What is that?" she asked.

"I took you on a date to a place that you enjoy, which is what I hoped." I responded. She smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

"Job well done, Mr. Goldsworthy." She whispered, almost seductively. It gave me excited chills.

"Well, before I swallow the rest of this burger whole, would you like a taste?" I asked.

"Wouldn't mind if I do." She said, grabbing it and taking a miniature bite. Her eyes widened in pleasure as the juiciness tingled her taste buds.

"Okay, _this _is my favorite place ever." She muttered, handing my burger back to me.

I smirked and continued to eat, watching happily as Imogen went on about how they didn't have places like this in Montreal.

We started to conversate about everything. She told me a lot about her, about how at her old school she was pretty popular, and how she played Volley ball. She told me funny stories about experiences she encountered, and her life goals.

I then told her about stories of me, Cece and Bull Frog when I was younger.

"I was like, five years old. It was my first day of school and I scared shitless. Cece brought me into class and I looked around the room, seeing nothing but... kids." I started, causing Imogen to laugh.

"Isn't that kind of the point of school?" Imogen giggled.

"Come on, I was five! So as she was about to leave, I jumped on her leg and I _wouldn't _let go for anything in the world." I laughed. Imogen giggled, her face turning red.

"I'm picturing Eli Goldsworthy clinging to his mommy's leg for dear life." She said, closing her eyes. A second later, she started giggling, her cute little laugh causing me to laugh along with her.

"Hey, don't judge me." I said between laughs. After a minute, we both finally stopped laughing and looked at each other.

"I'm having a great time, Eli. I really don't want it to end." She sighed. I sighed too, thinking the same exact thing. That's when an idea popped into my head.

I smirked, causing her to narrow her eyes confusedly.

"What if… what if it didn't have to end. Not just yet." I said, grinning widely.

**Author's Note: CLIFF HANGER :P Sorry, but I had to do it! Kinda short, but who cares? Next one will be much longer ;) **

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	7. The Party Never Stops

**Author's Note: OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I almost have 80 reviews, which means I'm going to have way more than my goal! Omg you guys are amazing! I love you guys soo much, so enjoy this chapter **

Imogen narrowed her eyes, a mischievous smile forming on her lips.

"Well, what did you have in mind?" she asked, slicing another piece of her steak.

"We can go _anywhere _you'd like. How about we order some dessert and then get out of here." I said before biting into my burger that was almost gone. She nodded her head in agreement.

"Sounds like a plan." She smiled.

We continued to eat the rest of our food as I told her about the people at school. She'd laugh occasionally, making me smile. I loved her laugh.

A few minutes after we had finished our food, Marisol walked over, the pen and pad in her hands.

"All done here?" she asked.

"Yes we are, and we'd like to order some dessert." I said.

"Okay, well here's the dessert menu." She said, handing us a small paper. "I'll take these plates and be back in a minute."

Marisol grabbed our empty plates and scurried off, leaving us to browse the menu.

"What are your taste buds chanting?" I asked, smirking.

Imogen giggled, turning the page over. Her eyes widened happily.

"A Chocolate Fudge mini Cake topped with a cherry and whipped cream!" she gasped, licking her lips.

"Please tell me we're getting that!" I responded, snatching the paper and analyzing the delicious looking picture.

"Umm, yes!" Imogen answered, smiling. "Let's share it."

I stared at her happily, causing her to blush.

About a minute later, Marisol returned.

"We'd like to have one of those chocolate fudge mini cakes topped with the cherry and whipped cream please." Imogen said as Marisol scribbled it down.

"Coming right up, love birds." Marisol winked before exiting swiftly.

I turned to Imogen slowly, smirking embarrassingly.

"Love birds, huh." I said. She smiled in response, blushing intensely.

"So uh, tell me about the school activities. Like the after school curriculars that I could join." She said, sipping at her lemonade.

I cleared my throat thinking of some.

"We do have Volley Ball, you should enjoy the team. Marisol is on it. We also have the Flower Club. And…Jesus Club." I said, sighing the last part sadly, thinking of Clare.

"Volley Ball sounds awesome, not so much of a Flower Club fan… and Jesus Club could be… reviving." Imogen said. I sighed.

"Are you a Christian or a Catholic or something?" I asked reluctantly.

"Christian, even though I may not act like it." Imogen responded, looking away.

"Oh…" I said, trying not to scare her away with bringing up my religion. She turned to me.

"Are you Christian?" she asked? My mouth went dry, searching for an answer.

"I'm uh… I don't really have a religion…" I answered slowly.

She nodded, looking around. "So you're like, Atheist?" she asked.

I nodded, hoping that she wouldn't mind. She smiled nervously.

"That's cool." She said, still smiling. "After all the crap I've done, I'm lucky I can even consider myself a Christian."

I chuckled, grabbing her hand.

"You're a great person." I said softly, causing her to grin modestly.

"Awww." She mocked, giggling after. I laughed along with her.

Marisol brought over our dessert, setting it in front of us.

"Enjoy." She chirped.

"Thanks Marisol." I said. She smiled and walked off.

Imogen grabbed her fork, grinning happily.

"This looks and smells delicious." She mumbled, digging her fork in it, pulling off a big chunk. I smirked watching her.

She looked at the fork, and then at me.

"Open wide." She smiled, pointing the fork toward my mouth. I opened my mouth as she slid the fork in there.

I bit the cake off of it, my mouth watering at the chocolaty dessert. I chewed anxiously, wanting more.

"It's good?" she asked softly.

"Mmmm hmmmm." I answered, getting my fork out of the napkin.

I dug a big chunk out just like she did and pointed it toward her mouth.

"But you should be the judge of that." I whispered huskily, causing a pink blush to creep on her face.

She slowly bit the cake off of the fork, her eyes never leaving mine.

She chewed slowly, smirking her girlish smirk. A few seconds later, she swallowed.

"Delicious indeed." She said, causing me to laugh.

We continued to devour the cake, fighting playfully over who would get the cherry. This was truly a moment worth savoring.

After we finished, Marisol returned back with the check.

"How much?" Imogen asked.

"Fourty-Three dollars and Twelve cents." I said. Imogen dug in her purse, pulling out bills.

"No, I got this." I smirked, pulling out my wallet.

"Are you sure?" Imogen asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Absolutely! _I_ asked you to dinner, remember?" I asked, laughing. Imogen put her money away, blushing.

"Such a gentlemen." She said softly. I smirked, leaving the money on the table. I grabbed Imogen's hand as we walked toward the exit.

"Did you two have fun?" Holly J asked as we reached the doors.

"Tons!" we said simultaneously.

"That's great, come back ya here!" Holly J said, imitating a Country person's accent. We smiled at her as we walked out into the cold air.

Imogen rubbed her hands up and down her arms as we walked to the car.

"Are you cold?" I asked. Her teeth chattered as she smiled nervously.

"Just a little." She admitted. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, bringing her close to me. She wrapped one of her arms around my waist as we walked slowly to the car.

"I think I have a jacket in the car." I said softly.

"Always prepared, Mr. Goldsworthy." She sighed, and I could feel her beautiful smile.

As soon as we reached the car, I opened her door for her as she quickly climbed in. I walked over to my side and got in.

I looked in the backseat, searching for my black leather jacket. As soon as I found it, I handed it to her as she greatly took it.

She slipped it on, thanking me. I started the car, backing out of the parking spot. I pulled onto the road, searching around for some place that we could go.

"Where to?" I asked. She looked around, staring at every building that we passed.

"Umm… what's open at 9:30?" she asked. I started naming off things like the bar, arcades, movies and then she gasped, causing me to look at her.

"What?" I asked.

"Is that a karaoke club?" she asked, smiling wide.

"Yeah…" I said uneasily. She looked at me, her eyes pleading.

"Eli, please." She whispered. I sighed, pulling onto the drive way that led to the karaoke club.

"I'm personally not a big fan of karaoke, but I'll come for you." I smirked. She smiled in response.

"You're the best!" she said excitedly. I smiled to myself. We pulled in front of the club, the bright lights shining around. I found a parking spot and pulled into it. I turned the car off, exiting the car. I walked around and opened Imogen's door as she stepped out. I locked the car and slowly wrapped my arm around Imogen's waist as we walked into the karaoke club. The pop music blared around the tiny club as a short man stood on the stage, singing awfully.

I chuckled while watching him standing up there awkwardly.

Imogen and I took our seats at a table located in the middle of the room.

Imogen and I both laughed at the man as he finished his song.

"I used to go to karaoke all of the time in Montreal. I would go with my…nevermind." She said, looking sad at the last part. I figured that she meant her ex boyfriend, so I grabbed her hand reassuringly.

"I just love karaoke." She said quietly, smiling sadly. A girl who looked no older than sixteen stepped on the stage, holding the microphone awkwardly.

"Hi, my name is Shannah. I'd like to sing Not Yet a Women by Britney Spears." She said.

The music began to play as she started to sway around. She began singing, and she actually sounded pretty good.

I looked at Imogen. She was smiling happily, squeezing my hand. She started to nod her head slowly along with everyone else in the club.

I stared at the girl on the stage as she danced around. A few minutes later, she finished the song followed by a loud applause.

"I'll be right back." Imogen said walking off. I watched her as she walked over to the man controlling the music. She talked to him swiftly before slowly walking onto stage and grabbing the microphone.

"Hi, My name is Imogen and I'd like to dedicate this song to a boy I kinda like." Imogen said, winking at me. I smiled up at her. She cleared her throat and looked around.

"This song is called You Had Me at Hello by A Day to Remember." She announced.

The lights dimmed, a single spot light focused on her. The soft, acoustic music began to play, filling the entire room. Imogen nodded her head to the beat as the intro continued to play out.

"_I'm missing you so much, I'll see you die tonight just so I can get to you before the sun will rise I know these times are hard and I feel this too none of that ever seems to matter when I'm holding you." _She sang, her voice sounding so beautiful. She had her eyes closed, indicating that she didn't need the lyrics on the screen.

She opened her eyes slowly, the beat starting to pick up a bit.

"_What have I gotten into this time around I know that I had sworn I'd never trust anyone again but I didn't have to." _She sang, her eyes searching for me. As soon as her eyes found me, she smiled happily.

"_You had me at hello."_ She sang, her eyes never leaving mine for a second. I was hypnotized. I couldn't believe that this beautiful, amazing girl was standing in front of everyone singing to me. I could feel butterflies fluttering my stomach, a familiar feeling.

I could tell by each word that she sang; I was falling for her harder and harder. She began to sway her hips around while everyone nodded their heads and raised their hands in the air.

"_Would it be okay if I took your breath away?" _she sang, moving around.

_Hell yeah _I thought to myself. She continued singing, causing everyone in the club to dance around.

I still couldn't believe it. I was in complete awe. A few minutes later, the song slowly ended, the lights came back on and everyone shot up clapping.

I slowly stood up, my mind going crazy. I began clapping loudly, the smile on my face big enough for the world to see. She looked at me, her brown eyes shining in happiness. She swiftly exited the stage. Many people walked over to her, complimenting her and expressing their love for her voice. She thanked them, anxiously trying to make her way back over to me.

I walked over to where she was, all of the people surrounding her. I pushed my way through them, her mood brightening up at the sight of me.

"Eli." She smiled. I walked up to her, and inched my hand to her cheek, caressing it.

"That was beautiful." I whispered.

"You liked it?" she responded, her tone hopeful.

"I _loved _it." I said back. She wrapped her arms around my neck as I wrapped both of mine around her waist.

"Awwwww." The people surrounding us said, causing us to pull away from each other and stare at them embarrassingly. I stared back at her, smirking.

"_I'll _be right back." I said, walking toward the man behind the D.J booth.

"What are you doing?" she asked. I turned back to face her.

"You'll see." I said, laughing. I walked up to the man and sighed.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"I'd like to sing a song…" I responded.

"Do you have a song in mind?" the man asked. I thought for a minute, and then an idea popped in my head.

"Do you have Paisley Jacket?" I asked. The man smiled, and took the CD out, entering it in the monitor.

"You're in luck." He responded. I walked up to the stage as everyone took their seats again. I wrapped my hand around the mic, looking at Imogen's shocked face.

"My name is Eli, and I'd like to sing Paisley Jacket by Dead Hand. It's the favorite song of this one girl who I'm kind of crazy about." I smirked, as she blushed uncontrollably.

The music started to play as I rocked my head back and forth.

"_I see your pattern! And I can't match it! Just trace the lines of, your Paisley Jacket!" _I sang, snatching the mic off of the stand and jumping around the stage. I looked at Imogen, who was laughing happily.

"_Don't know what you mean, when you say you have it all! It's crashing down and you're not ready for the fall!" _I sang, bouncing around. Imogen's face grew red from smiling, and everyone began clapping to the beat.

I continued to sing, having an awesome time. Who knew karaoke would be _this _fun?

I finished the song, everyone laughing and applauding. I took an exaggerated bow and strolled of off the stage, Imogen walking over to greet me.

I walked up to her, out of breath.

"You are too much." She laughed, grabbing me by my tie. Our foreheads touched, our lips seconds away from each others. I slowly gripped her hips as our lips brushed up against each others. It was almost as if we were asking each other if this was okay.

I took the liberty of ending the tension by crushing my lips over hers. We kept our lips on each others for a long time as Imogen raised her hand and wrapped it around my neck.

She sighed into the kiss, causing me to smirk against her lips. Seconds later, we both broke away from each other, our lips separating in a light smacking noise. We both smiled, taking in the knowledge of our first kiss. I wouldn't have asked for it to be any other way.

"That was…" she started.

"Amazing." I finished.

She smiled, nodding her hand frantically. "Uh huh."

We turned to everyone and noticed that they were staring at us smiling. We smiled back at them and looked at each other.

"You ready to get out of here?" I asked softly. She nodded her head grinning.

We walked out of the club hand in hand. We walked to the car, and I walked over to open the door for her. She got in and I closed the door after her. I walked over to my side and climbed in, starting the car. I turned the radio on, and a soft rock song was playing.

We weren't to far away from where Imogen lived, so the car ride was quiet as we listened to the song.

A few minutes later, we pulled up in front of the gate at Imogen's house. She stared at her house, sighing sadly. She turned to me and smiled.

"Tonight was one of the _best _nights I have ever had." She said, a tear forming in her eye. I caressed her cheek, wiping the tear away.

"This night was truly amazing." I agreed. We both leaned our heads in, capturing each others lips in another deep, meaningful kiss.

A minute later, we both reluctantly pulled away, staring into each others eyes.

"I'll call you tomorrow." She said softly.

"I'll be waiting." I smirked. She climbed out of the car and turned to me.

"Thanks for dinner." She said.

"Thanks for accompanying me." I responded. She smiled and closed the door. She walked to the gate, opening it.

I watched as she walked up her front steps, and dug in her small purse for her house key. She opened it, waving at me before she walked inside.

I pulled out of the drive way, smirking to myself.

"I think I'm in love." I laughed, driving home.

**Author's Note: AWWW HOW CUTE **** review and tell me what you thought about the kiss :3 thanks guys, I love you all!**

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	8. The Good & The Bad

**Author's Note: Okay guys I'm glad you all like the kiss ^_^ I felt all bubbly and warm when I wrote it because I wish they'd be like that on the show! Thanks for the awesome reviews! Enjoy chapter 8! **

It was Monday morning, and it wasn't as miserable as most of my Monday's always were.

I decided to walk to school today since it was so nice out.

I smiled the whole way to school, thinking about the great weekend that I had. I thought about the date Friday, how Imogen and I shared our _first _kiss.

I thought about how we stayed on the phone for almost the whole day Saturday, and also how we ran into each other at the store Sunday and went for coffee at the Dot afterwards. It was absolutely perfect, and I loved every minute I shared with Imogen.

I walked up the front steps of the school, stopping to tie my shoes.

"Hey, you." A voice said, I looked up and saw Fiona standing by my feet.

"Hey." I said, standing up. We walked into the school towards the cafeteria.

"I skipped breakfast, I'm kinda hungry." I mumbled.

"Okay, well I have a few play details I'd like to share with you." Fiona said, pulling her iPhone out of her bag and tapping quickly.

I smirked at her as we walked into the caf.

"I kissed Imogen." I randomly blurted, causing Fiona to almost drop her iPhone. She stared at me, her eyes full of excitement.

"Give me details!" she shrieked. We walked up to the line and I grabbed a tray.

"So we went on a date Friday night to Little Miss Steaks, and it was great but we weren't ready to go home yet so I took her to this karaoke club-

"Wait, _you _went to karaoke?" Fiona asked, choking on laughs.

"_She_ wanted to go to a karaoke club!" I said. Fiona stopped laughing and beckoned me to continue.

"So we went to karaoke and she got up on the stage and sung this _beautiful _song and dedicated it to me. I was mesmerized, Fiona." I said as the lunch lady placed some salad on my tray.

"Awww, really?" Fiona said grinning happily.

"Yeah." I smiled. "So I got up there and sung to her."

Fiona started laughing again, her face turning red.

"W-wait." She giggled, leaning over and clutching her stomach. I rolled my eyes, smirking.

"Y-you sung?" she stuttered, bursting out in more laughter.

"Yes, I sung Paisley Jacket, and it was actually kind of fun! I guess she liked it so much that after I finished singing, she walked up to me and… _congratulated _me." I winked, smirking at the last part. Fiona smiled clapping her hands.

"This is amazing, Eli! I am so happy for you! Let me know when the wedding is, I'd like to plan the whole thing!" Fiona said. I looked at her and narrowed my eyes.

"No wedding, we're no where near that." I laughed. "I'm still trying to figure out when to ask her out on a second date."

I finished putting everything else on my tray and Fiona and I went to go sit down at one of the tables.

"Well, first let's analyze this kiss. Was it like this?" Fiona asked, poking her lips out and imitating a quick peck.

"Or like _this_." She said, poking her lips out and imitating a steamy, sloppy make out. I smirked, taking a bite of my muffin.

"Um… in the middle? It was more of a nice, long kiss." I said. Fiona smiled while sending a text message.

"That's great, Eli!" she chirped. I smiled to myself thinking of how amazing the kiss was. How delicious her lips tasted.

"Ahhh!" Fiona shrieked, interrupting my thoughts.

"What? What?" I asked. Fiona grinned happily waving her phone around.

"How do you think Imogen would feel about a double date?" Fiona asked. I smirked, leaning forward.

"What's on your mind Miss Coyne?" I asked.

"My girlfriend Charlie just texted me about this Music fair. Its next weekend and tons of students from Degrassi attend every year!" she said. I nodded my head. It sounded interesting.

"Sounds cool. Where is it at and like what time?" I asked.

"One sec." Fiona said, tapping furiously on her iPhone.

A few seconds later her phone buzzed. She checked her text and smiled.

"It's from 7 a.m through 10 p.m! It's going to be in Toronto, so we'd have to be up pretty early. We should totally car pool." Fiona said. It sounded great, but there was one thing that was bothering me.

"Umm…Fiona? Can I ask you something…?" I said. Fiona looked up from her phone.

"Sure."

"Do you think if I ask her to this, she'll think I'm moving too fast? I mean, I _really _like her, but I don't want to seem too…clingy." I admitted.

Fiona bit her lip as if she was pondering the question.

"Well, Charlie and I made out on our first, well technically not even our first date…Waiting is overrated, so why wait a day when you only have to wait a minute, you know what I mean?" Fiona said, and I felt like she was right. I mean, Imogen and I both really liked each other, and this would be a great way to spend more time together.

"Okay, yeah. I'm going to ask her." I said smirking. Fiona sighed happily and continued texting as I finished eating.

…

The bell for first period rung as I walked down the hallway slowly. I really didn't feel like dealing with Mr. Bradley today, so I attempted to avoid it for as long as possible.

I came up to the door and sighed before opening it. As I expected, all eyes went on me as I walked in awkwardly.

"Late pass, Elijah?" Mr. Bradley asked, already knowing the answer.

"No, sorry. I was at breakfast." I said.

"Come on up." Mr. Bradley sighed, reaching for the clothes pin. As usual, I walked up to the front and he clipped a late pass to my shirt.

I will _never _understand this stupid punishment.

I went to sit down in between Katie Matlin and Bianca DeSousa.

I immediately zoned out, thinking of Imogen. She's all I could think about lately.

I felt a hand pat my shoulder and I turned to see Bianca staring at me.

"Hey…" I said. She laughed and dipped her head lower so the teacher wouldn't see her talking.

"You're blushing." She whispered.

"What?" I asked, feeling my face with my hands. Sure enough, my face was burning. Bianca laughed again.

"Thinking of Imogen?" she asked. I narrowed my eyes, how did she know? She caught on to my glare and stopped laughing.

"I recently became friends with Imogen. She told me she really likes you and that you like her too." Bianca said, reassuring my confusion. I nodded my head.

"Yeah I do really like her. We uh, have a connection." I whispered back.

Bianca nodded her head and smiled.

"Well I guess since Imogen and I are pretty cool, we should be friends…" Bianca said. Was _this _really Bianca? The HBIC gangster chick that hated everyone?

"You… want to be friends… with _me?_" I asked. Bianca laughed and nodded her head.

"I know I didn't always come off as the friendliest of friends, but I kinda changed a while ago; Taking on a new approach." Bianca said. I understood completely, because I was also taking on a new approach.

"Then yeah, let's be friends." I said.

"Glossy." Bianca said. I figured it was some slang for okay.

"Mr. Goldsworthy, Mrs. DeSousa; class is up here!" Mr. Bradley shouted. We both slumped in our seats, whining.

…

The day past by slowly as I walked out of each class more tired than before. It was lunch time, which relieved me.

I hadn't seen Imogen all day so I was glad I'd get to see her at lunch.

I walked into the cafeteria and browsed around. I spotted her and Bianca talking by the water fountain so I walked over to them. Imogen smiled when she caught sight of me.

"Hey." She smiled.

"Hey." I smirked.

"Yo!" Bianca retorted, causing us to laugh. I stared back at Imogen and grabbed her hand.

"I have to ask you something." I said softly. I could see a small grin forming on her lips as she told Bianca that we'd be right back. I walked her over by a lunch table so that we could be alone.

"Yes?" she asked innocently. I licked my lips trying to think of the right words to say.

"So, I was eating breakfast with Fiona this morning and she got a text from her girlfriend about this music fair next weekend. It sounds pretty cool so Fiona thought it'd be nice if we…double dated?" I said quickly.

I studied Imogen's face for a reaction. Her eyes were shining with joy.

"Really?" she asked. I nodded my head. I grabbed both of her hands in mine.

"I hope you don't think I'm moving too fast but I just…_really _like you. I want to spend more time together and this music fair sounds really fun." I said.

"I don't think you're moving too fast at all." Imogen laughed, squeezing my hands.

"So is that a yes?" I whispered huskily, my smirk causing her to blush.

"That's a hell yes." She breathed. You don't know how much I just wanted to throw her on a table and make love to her in front of-, woah… I need to shake those thoughts right now.

"Eliii?" Imogen said softly, bringing me back to reality.

"Huh, yeah?" I asked. She giggled softly and wrapped her arms loosely around my neck. I immediately wrapped mine around her waist, trying not to grip her too tight.

"I just want you to know how happy you make me feel." Imogen whispered. She gave my neck a quick peck and broke her grasp from me, causing my arms to fall from her waist.

"You don't know how happy I am to hear that." I said back. Imogen licked her lips and smiled.

"I'm going to get some juice; be right back." she said softly. She turned around, walking away.

She was wearing a skirt that was pretty short, but it fit her body very well. She also had on black heels, which toned her tan thighs.

As she was walking off, a few boys from the Football team started whistling at her and making sex jokes.

"Let me grab that, iight baby?" One of the boys said. I took a deep breathe, trying my hardest not to go over there and punch him in the face.

She stared at him and rolled her eyes. She quickly walked her way to the lunch stand, standing in line. I looked over at the sick foot ball players, how they were sitting over there making their dumb perverted jokes. I was making my way over there to confront them when I heard someone call my name.

I turned around to see Clare. Oh no, I don't think I can handle this right now…

She gave me a fake smile and cleared her throat.

"Can I help you?" I snapped causing her to go wide eyed.

"Actually yes… I came to ask you about the progress on the play. I'm a reporter for the Degrassi Daily and it's kind of my job to start checking up on it." She said.

"It's going just fine, thanks." I said, eager to stop talking to her. It was hard enough seeing her at school with _Jake _without going crazy, I don't know how I'll be able to take a _casual _conversation with the girl who I loved.

"Okay… that's good. Do you have any exclusive information on the play that you'd like to share with us?" she asked.

How could she be so calm? How could she just stand here in front of me and act like I'm just some random person that she's doing an interview on. I took a deep breath and shook my head.

"Nope." I croaked; my face emotionless. She looked tooken back and sighed.

"Look Eli, could you please stop acting like this?" she whispered furiously.

"Like what?" I asked. She narrowed her eyes and I could tell she was getting irritated.

"You don't have to make things more difficult than they have to be!" she whispered a little louder.

"Okay, listen." I started, but I was interrupted by Imogen walking up to us. Oh, great.

"Hey, sorry I took so long. The line was super long." She said staring at me. She turned to Clare and smiled. "Clare, right?"

Clare nodded, her eyes never leaving my face.

"That's right." She said, a hence of attitude. There was thick tension in the air, and all of us were silent.

About a minute later, Bianca walked up.

"What's taking you losers so long?" she joked. I stared at her, giving her the "awkward moment" look. She nodded her head slowly, looking around.

Clare sighed and shook her head.

"When you're ready to stop being immature, come find me." She snapped before storming off. I could feel my face growing red, my palms sweating. My heart started to thump loudly, feeling like it was about to explode out of my chest.

Imogen grabbed my hand slowly, which in some way immediately calmed me down a bit. My heart beat slowly returned to normal and my breathing mellowed.

She stared up me with confusion.

"What was that about?" she asked. I gulped nervously. How would I _ever _find the courage to tell her about Clare and I?

I knew I couldn't… telling girls about my past loves only ended in tragedy.

I forced a smile to her and took a deep breathe.

"Us two… we don't get along." I admitted. Imogen nodded her head and looked away, her hand still in mine.

"Let's go get some food and eat." I suggested. Bianca and Imogen both nodded in agreement. We walked in line and I sighed shakily. On the outside, I was chilled. But on the inside, it felt like a hot stove exploded and was burning me alive.

…

The rest of the day went dragging by, and I just couldn't wait for the bell to ring so I could go home.

The cafeteria confrontation was super awkward and I could tell that Imogen was very confused about it.

As soon as the bell rung, I scurried out of the classroom making my way to the front doors of the school.

I burst out, the crowd of kids filling up by the second. I hurried down the front steps walking on the sidewalk that the walkers took.

I didn't care if anyone wanted my attention; I needed to get home so I could wallow in self pity.

I hurried home, sighing when I came in contact with my front steps. I burst through the door and ran upstairs to my room.

I closed my door and dropped my bag on the floor. I instinctively sat on the bed and buried my head in my hands.

"Just breathe." I sighed, my tone slightly shaky. I swallowed over and over. I was eagerly trying to calm myself because I couldn't afford another brutal anxiety attack.

I grabbed my phone scrolling to Imogen's contact card. Maybe I should call her…

"No!" I screamed, throwing my phone. I couldn't allow myself to get too attached to her. I walked in the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

I walked to the shower and turned it on, letting the cold water run down.

A nice, cold shower was all I needed. I quickly removed my clothes and stepped in the shower; the cold water numbing my bones and my feelings all the same.

…

I opened my eyes, yawning immediately. After my shower, I took a nap, which was anxiously needed. I sat up slowly and looked around the room and noticed how dark it was.

I got out of bed searching for my phone that I had threw hours earlier.

As soon as I found it, I flipped it open and checked the time. It was 7:43 p.m.

I yawned again and switched on the light. I noticed my laptop sitting open on my computer desk so I walked over and clicked the mouse which brought it out of sleep mode.

I logged on to my FaceRange account. I didn't have any notifications but I had a message. I clicked on it and sighed when I saw it was from Clare.

_Subject: Sorry…_

_Hey Eli, I'm sorry for snapping on you like that… I felt like that was inappropriate, but I hope we can talk soon. Call me if you'd like…_

I quickly exited out of the message. I desperately wanted to call her and find some sort of closure, but closure meant…_closure. _No matter how much I liked Imogen, I couldn't find it in my heart to make things final with Clare.

I desperately needed to get my mind off of Clare, so I went to my profile. I figured that I should post a status.

_Eli Goldsworthy- long day… _

I submitted my status and went to my news feed, browsing everyone else's statuses.

_Alli Bhandari- today was great! going shopping with Dave _

_Fiona Coyne- had a good play practice, although one important person was M.I.A… _

Oh crap, I forgot all about the play rehearsals…

_Adam Torres- heading for some fuse ball with Drew. _

_Bianca DeSousa- I need a good lap dance, hitting up the club tonight! Who care's if it's a school night.. _

I laughed and scrolled down, looking for more statuses.

_Imogen Moreno: "Come see me broadcasting live at __www. LiveCam(dot)com/ImogenM__" _

Live Cam? I was a little curious, so I clicked on her link which brought me directly to her web cam. I smirked when I saw what it was.

**Author's Note: Okay I'm not too confident about this chapter to be honest, but uh… LEAVE ME SOME REVIEWS! **

**I'd like some guesses on what you guys think the whole web cam thing is about, so leave me a guess in a review! Let's see if your right! Okay, I love you guys! **

**Follow me on Twitter, I follow back!: AshleyMocha12**


	9. Dying Flower

**Author's Note: sorry it took so long to update! I have school now, so updates might be slow. Well, here we go **

She stood there in short black shorts and an orange tank top which looked like her sleeping clothes. Her hair was up in a bun with strands of hair falling neatly on her face. She was painting a picture, and from what I could see so far, it was a picture of a flower dying.

In the description for the Live Chat, it said:

_Watch me paint portraits of indirect feelings, and comment your thoughts…_

It wasn't exactly what I expected her chat to be, but just seeing this beautiful girl doing something extraordinary was enough to bring a huge smirk to my face. I also remembered how she said they she enjoyed painting, so maybe this was something that relaxed her.

I looked in the LiveChat comments and sighed angrily. All of these creeps were on here checking out her ass and being perverted.

_**Owen-Mill23- **__Damn that's a sexy bitch. _

_**HungryHunter- **__Let's skip the painting and get right to the hot sex._

_**PrettyJenny- **__you guys are pigs. _

_**Jeremiahhhh- **__You're just jealous. You wouldn't be calling us pigs if we were talking about you._

I shook my head, reading all of the comments as they kept popping up with more sexual remarks regarding Imogen.

I looked back up at the video and frowned sadly as she added blood dripping from the flower as it drooped down, indicating that it was dead.

I wish I knew what was going on through her head. I wish there was some way that I could help her feel better about whatever was bothering her, because something obviously was.

I didn't dare look back at the comments; I just kept staring at Imogen and the portrait she was painting. It was beautifully painted, but as she said in her description, it was an indirect feeling.

_A dying flower…_

I couldn't find any theory at all to assume what could have inspired her to paint that. I tried and tried, but I couldn't think.

Almost a minute later, I heard a door slam open. Imogen jumped, clearly startled as she turned to the source and I could see fear written all over her face.

"What the hell are you doing?" the voice screamed, a tired and shaky tone. Imogen gulped and looked at the webcam, clearly embarrassed.

"I'm painting." She quietly answered.

"_PAINTING? _You can't paint! You can't do _anything! _And what the hell is that webcam for? Are you over here stripping in front of a bunch of horny guys like the little _slut _you are? That's all your good for, isn't it?" the woman screamed, her voice dragging each word out painfully.

I gasped as the woman's words finally processed. Who the hell was that and why on earth would she talk to her like that.

Imogen's face was red and her eyes shined with unshed tears.

"I'm not. I promise." Imogen whispered tucking the loose strands behind her ear.

"Get OFF of that webcam and come downstairs!" the woman screamed before slamming the door shut. Imogen turned her face back to the webcam and sighed shakily before walking over to it.

Her face was really close to the camera, and you could see the crystal tears streaming down her face. Almost instantly, the camera shot off.

_**-ImogenM has disconnected her LiveChat-**_

I shook my head over and over, rage over powering me.

I scrolled back down to the comments as they flooded through.

_**StacyBorne: **__who was that bitch yelling at her?_

_**Owen-Mill23: **__if that was her mom I feel sorry for her :P_

_**PeterIsHorny: **__lol agreed bro!_

_**Sadie: **__that is NOT funny you guys…_

_**PeterIsHorny: **__it's not our fault her mom bitched at her in front of everyone. Lol _

I slammed my computer shut. If I read one more of those ignorant fucking comments, I was going to go crazy.

I quickly searched around for my phone and sighed when I finally found it. I quickly scrolled to Imogen's contact card and pressed the call button.

I held the phone up to my ear, my hands shaking. It rung twice before going straight to voicemail. I quickly pressed the redial button, but it only went to voicemail again.

I went to my text message page and started to type anxiously.

_To: Imogen_

_Call me as soon as you read this!_

I sent it _hoping _that she'd call me back soon. I had to make sure she was okay.

I laid my head against my pillow, the scene that happened minutes earlier replaying over and over in my head.

The woman sounded so strung out. It was one of those voices that you only heard in the horror movies.

So many terrible scenarios were going through my head and I desperately needed that call to calm myself down.

I stood up, pacing my room. I felt like punching something. That was probably the only other thing that could help relieve the anger that I felt about what I'd just seen.

Anyone would feel as pissed as I did if they had to witness someone they cared about being torn down like that.

After several minutes of pacing my room, my phone buzzed. I quickly ran to it and was relieved to see Imogen's name pop up. I answered it, putting the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked anxiously.

"Hey, Eli…did you call?" she asked, and something was wrong with her voice.

"Yeah! I saw your LiveChat and… I heard someone yelling at you. Was that your mom? What's going on? Are you-

"I'm fine." She interrupted, her voice scratchy. She had obviously been crying.

"But I saw…" I said. There was silence. Long silence.

"Imogen?" I asked after a minute. She gave me an uneasy laugh.

"That was my mom. She's just drunk and when she gets drunk she says stupid crap. I guess it just gets to me, but I'm fine… I promise." She said. I sighed, still unhappy with what I heard.

"Are you sure your okay Imogen?" I asked again.

"Yes! I am fine!" she said, irritation in her tone. I shook my head and sat down.

"Okay. See you at school." I mumbled before hanging up. I didn't mean to get upset from her response, I just didn't feel right about any of it. I was just so confused that I decided to go to sleep.

I laid my head on the pillow and slowly closed my eyes.

…

I made sure to be at school early the next day. I sped to the Drama Room, running into people on the way. As soon as I burst through the door, Fiona and Mrs. Hyser glared at me.

I walked up to them, raising my hands in protest.

"I'm so sorry I missed play rehearsals! I was going through some stuff and-

"Where's the play, Eli?" Mrs. Hyser interrupted. I bit my lip, thinking of the script. I hadn't even started writing the play. I guess I was too pre occupied.

"Uh…it's almost done." I lied. Fiona looked at Mrs. Hyser with fear all over her face, as did I.

"I was hoping that you'd have it for me yesterday so that people could start getting their roles and working on their lines. I had to improvise yesterday and make up things for them to do for that hour and a half. This does _not _amuse me." She said, her eyes narrowed creepily. It sent chills down my spine.

"Look, I'm really sorry. I promise to have it to you tomorrow. I _promise._" I convinced. Mrs. Hyser's lips poked out and her eyes were still angry daggers, but she nodded.

"You better have it tomorrow." She whispered, getting up from her chair and walking into the back room. Fiona looked at me and sighed.

"Where were you yesterday?" she asked. I walked over to a chair and sat down.

"I was having a mild anxiety attack." I said, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. Fiona walked over and crouched down in front of me, grabbing her hands in mine.

"Are you okay?" she whispered. I nodded my head and gulped.

"Yeah… I should be fine." I answered. I bit my lip to refrain from telling her about the Imogen incident. I'm sure it was embarrassing enough to have those people see it, I didn't want to invite more people into her drama.

"Is there anything else?" Fiona asked. I shook my head standing up. Our hands dropped and I backed out toward the door.

"Where are you going?" she asked suspiciously.

"I need to go finish the play. I'll be in media immersion." I responded before darting out of the door.

I started for my locker and stopped when I saw Imogen sitting on the bench at the J.T Yorke memorial garden. I walked over and she looked up at me, smiling softly.

"Hey." I said sitting next to her.

"Hello there." She responded. There was a small silence and then she spoke up again.

"Um…how's your morning so far?" she asked. I stared at her trying to figure out if there was any hidden disappointment somewhere. If there was, she was hiding it very well.

"It's good…" I said. She nodded slowly and rubbed her hands repeatedly up and down her thighs. She noticed me staring and giggled.

"I do this out of nowhere. It's like an unknown, annoying habit." She said, still giggling. Her happiness confused me. I was expecting her to be an emotional mess, and she was perfectly fine like nothing had happened.

"Imogen, are you okay?" I asked. She stared at me innocently, her eyes darting at each of mine back and forth.

"Yeah…why?" she asked nervously. I gulped and sighed.

"Because last night-

"Eli please, don't. I'm trying to forget about that." She interrupted while looking around. I nodded quickly.

"I'm sorry." I apologized, completely sincere. She stared at me and forced a smile.

"It's okay. Do you want to go eat breakfast or something?" she asked. I looked at her and shook my head.

"I should head to media immersion. I have a play to finish." I told her, standing up. She stared at me sadly and then looked away.

"Have fun." She whispered. I sighed and walked out of the memorial, heading to the media immersion classroom.

As soon as I passed by, I opened the door and closed it after me. Mrs. Oh was sitting at her desk. She was the only one in the room.

She looked up from her computer and looked at me.

"Can I help you?" she asked. I nodded and adjusted my bag on my shoulder.

"Yes, can I use one of these computers? I have a homework deadline and I anxiously need to finish." I begged. Mrs. Oh smiled and gestured to one of the computers.

"Of course." She said. I smiled in response and walked over to sit down at one of the computers in the middle of the room.

"Do you think I could stay through first period at one of the empty computers?" I asked, hoping she'd say yes so that I could miss Mr. Bradley's class. She sighed sadly and shook her head.

"All of the computers will be filled up. You can stay after school though." She said, smiling at the end. I nodded and clicked on Microsoft Word.

"Here goes nothing." I whispered as I began to type the first line of my play.

I sat there typing 1,000 words per second until the bell suddenly rang, interrupting my flow. Mrs. Oh looked up from her computer at me and whistled, breaking my focus. I looked at her and sighed.

"I'll see you after school?" she said.

"Yes mam." I said while saving my draft to my flash drive. I walked out of the room and walked off toward Math class.

I saw Clare and Jake talking by a few lockers ahead of me so I walked to the far side of the hallway. Clare noticed me and walked my way, ignoring what Jake was saying.

I tried to walk faster but she caught up with me.

"Eli!" she shouted from behind me. I slowly turned around.

"Yes?" I asked, irritated.

"Did you get my message?" she asked, her blue eyes sparkling in hope. I groaned under my breath.

"Clare, can we talk later? I have to get to class." I snapped before storming off. I didn't dare look back. I ran into Mr. Bradley's class just in time, the bell ringing seconds after.

Mr. Bradley began clapping his hands causing the whole class to stare at him confusedly.

"Elijah Goldsworthy is on time for class. Amazing." he mocked. I rolled my eyes and sat down next to Bianca. She nudged my shoulder so I turned to her.

"Did you see Imogen's web cam last night?" she whispered. I nodded slowly.

"Did you?" I asked. She shook her head, leaning back.

"No I was at the club, but Owen told me all about it. Is she okay?" she asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

"She seemed fine earlier." I whispered back. Bianca raised her eye brows and began paying attention to the teacher, but all I could focus on was the script and Imogen…

….

At lunch time I walked into the drama room and walked directly to Mrs. Hyser's desk where she sat eating a tuna sandwich. She stared at me like she tasted something sour.

"Can I help you?" she spat. I shook it off and pulled out my flash drive.

"I have most of my script on here, I'm going to finish up today after school in the media immersion class. Today for rehearsals, could you get everyone to sing a song for 30 seconds and then evaluate who has the best voices?" I asked. Mrs. Hyser stared at me and smiled.

"I'm proud of you, Eli. You're more organized than I thought. Of course I'll have them sing! I'm looking forward to an amazing script!" she said. I nodded and scattered out of the room. She had no idea how unorganized I truly was, and I was hoping we could keep it that way. At least for a while.

The rest of the day flew by and I was relieved. I didn't see Imogen since the conversation this morning, but I was sure she was fine. I ran into the media immersion lab and grabbed a chair at the same computer I was sitting at earlier.

I looked over at Mrs. Oh and waved, but she was too busy typing on her lap top. I pulled up my document and began to type furiously.

It felt like seconds passed by, when truly it was hours. Mrs. Oh whistled again, bringing me back to life. I looked at her and noticed that she had all of her stuff gathered up.

"Its 7 o'clock. You're still not done with that assignment?" she asked. I shook my head. I only had a few more scenes to go, but I wasn't quiet finished.

"It's okay, I can finish up when I get home." I said saving my draft.

"When is it due?" she asked.

"Tomorrow." I responded.

"Well I'm glad you got most of it done." She said jingling her keys. I grabbed my bag and started walking for the door.

"Thanks Mrs. Oh." I said before exiting. I walked outside and I noticed that it was storming. I was relieved that I took the car, so I quickly ran to it and unlocked it. I climbed in and threw my bag in the backseat. I started the car and pulled out of the driveway, making my way out of the schools gates.

I was driving down the street, everything calm.

I loved storms, they helped me think. I was a few blocks away from the school when I noticed a girl walking slowly down the side walk. The closer I got, the more familiar the girl looked.

I pulled up slowly where the girl was walking and I instantly noticed who it was.

Imogen.

I rolled the window down and slowed the car down to her walking pace.

The rain was pouring all over her, her hair sticking to her face from the moisture.

"Hey Imogen!" I shouted. She looked in my direction and then turned her face away, walking faster. I sped up a little bit trying to keep the pace with her.

"Hey, get in the car!" I yelled. I had no idea what she was doing walking in the rain. She looked at me again and she looked like she was in a world of pain. I stopped the car immediately and got out, slamming my door. I walked to where she was and ran in front of her. She looked up at me and pushed my chest.

"Leave me alone." She cried her voice shaky and scared. I grabbed her arms gently so that she was looking directly at me.

I noticed a large pink bruise on the side of her eye and there was a tiny amount of blood in the corner of her mouth.

I traced my fingers down her cheek, shock all over my face.

"What happened to you?" I whispered. Even through the rain, I could see tears streaming down her face. She looked so broken, she looked so frail. It was truly heart breaking.

She didn't answer, she just cried some more. I slowly tilted her face up and inched my face close to hers, capturing her lips in slow, wet kisses. She needed this, and I'd do anything to wipe the pain from her face.

She slowly wrapped her arms around my neck as I pulled her close to me.

After a minute, I broke away from the kiss staring into her eyes. She looked back into mine, and all I could see was fear. I was desperate to know who did this to her. I was guessing she got into a fight at school or something. I wasn't sure at all.

I rubbed the sides of her waist up and down and pulled her in even closer.

"Let me take you home." I whispered, kissing her temple. As soon as I said that, her eyes went into complete horror. She pushed me off of her and backed away.

"I AM _**NOT **_GOING HOME!" she screamed. I was shocked at the sudden outburst. I had absolutely no idea what was going on right now. Imogen stared at me for a second before darting into the woods.

I quickly tried to run after her, but the rain was getting too hard and she was _fast. _

I rubbed my hand through my drenched hair and sighed. What the _hell _just happened?

**Author's Note: okay guys, another cliffy! Thoughts? & I bet you were all surprised at the web cam thing lol, well next chapter will have more K.C ;) & you'll find out the truth behind Imogen Moreno. Mwahahahaahaha. Review, review, REVIEWW ;D**

**Follow Me On Twitter, I Follow Back: AshleyMocha12**


	10. Confessions

**Author's Note: sorry for not updating sooner :P enjoy!**

I sat at the drama desk watching as everyone worked in their groups of four. It was early in the morning, but Mrs. Hyser called a rehearsal through first period which everyone greatly agreed to.

I had handed in my draft of the play to Mrs. Hyser that morning, unsatisfied with my work. After the incident with Imogen, I wasn't able to focus and I ended up putting as little effort into the last scenes of the script as possible.

I was glad that Mrs. Hyser didn't get a chance to read it yet, because I know that I would have been screwed. Mrs. Hyser had left for a bathroom break earlier, and hasn't returned since, leaving Fiona and I in charge.

I looked around for Imogen, but I didn't see her anywhere. I looked over at Fiona who was dealing with K.C, Riley, Chantay and some girl named Leanna's group. She looked irritated.

A few minutes later she came walking over to me, frown lines plastered on her forehead.

"What's wrong?" I asked. she shook her head while pulling her heels off and replacing them with blue flats.

"If I have to go over to K.C's group _one _more time…" she began, her jaw clenching. I laughed, receiving a glare.

"Come sit down, I'll deal with the groups." I offered. She sighed happily.

"Thank you." She said taking a seat in my chair as I got up.

"No problem." I smirked. I groaned as I walked around to the groups, making sure they were on task. They were each supposed to do once scene from the script and then present them at the end of class, so it was important that no one was goofing off.

"NO CHANTAY, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SAY _THIS _LINE, NOT _THAT _ONE! READ THE FUCKING SCRIPT!" A voice hollered. I turned to the source and it was none other than K.C. I noticed Chantay telling him off, so I decided that I wouldn't have to go over there just yet.

The door to the drama room swung open, Imogen walking through. I smiled, walking up to greet her, but she just stood there depressed.

"Imogen." I began, stopping in front of her. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up."

She avoided my eyes as she rocked back and forth on her heels.

"I wasn't." she whispered. I frowned, desperately trying to get her to look at me.

"Can we talk please?" I asked. She finally looked into my eyes, swallowing sadly.

"There's nothing to talk about." She said quietly as she walked away. I stared after her as she slowly took a seat in a chair off in the corner of the classroom. I walked over and kneeled down in front of her so that we were eye level. She groaned, clearly irritated.

"What do you want?" she asked. I grabbed her hand and caressed it, my eyes never leaving hers.

"I want to help. I want to be here for you. When is saw you Yesterday, you had a look in your eyes that I've never seen before. I just want you to trust me." I said softly. She shook her head, her face turning red.

"Help? Eli, you can't help me! There's absolutely nothing you can do about what's going on with me right now." She said, her eyes shining with unshed tears. I grabbed her other hand and kissed it.

"Talk to me, Imogen. You can trust me, I promise. Just talk to me. Just let me at least be here for you."

I pleaded. Tears ran down her cheeks as she looked into my eyes, nodding slowly. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by another one of K.C's loud outbursts.

"You talking bout my mama?" he screamed, pushing Riley. Riley stood there looking confused.

"Dude, I just said I didn't like Dora!" Riley replied. K.C let out a loud, girlish scream.

"What the fuck? Dora's a 5 star bitch!" he screamed. I sighed angrily, making my way over there.

"You need to calm down." Riley told K.C, raising his hands in surrender.

"Are you threatening me? Oh hell no, Chantay hold my shit!" K.C screamed, throwing his bag on Chantay. K.C raised his fist as if he was about to hit Riley, but I caught it just in time.

"Hey K.C!" I screamed as K.C turned to look at me. "You need to chill the fuck out before I kick you out of the play!"

His face was still red.

"But he said-

"I don't care what he said! You need to… go take a time out!" I screamed, eagerly trying not to laugh. K.C walked over to the corner and screamed, "AWWW, THIS IS NOT FAIR!"

I turned to Riley and smiled embarrassingly.

"Sorry about him." I mumbled. Riley nodded.

"We're used to em'." Chantay said, watching as he threw a tantrum in the corner.

I instantly remembered that I still needed to talk to Imogen, so I turned around only to see an empty chair where she once sat. I kind of panicked, my eyes searching anxiously around the room. She must have slipped out while I was dealing with K.C.

I walked over to Fiona who was happily reading a magazine. She looked up from it and smiled.

"Having fun with K.C?" she joked.

"Oh yeah- look, I need you to take over for a bit." I said quickly. She twisted her face in aggravation, slamming her magazine shut.

"Why? I just got on break!" she whined.

"Look, I just need to really talk to Imogen! It's really, _really _important." I said, my eyes still searching the room.

She sighed and stood up.

"Fine! But don't take long!" she said. I gave her a quick hug, mumbling thanks. I ran to the door, bolting out of it.

I did feel bad about leaving Fiona in there alone, but this was important. Leave it to Mrs. Hyser to go on an hour long bathroom break…

I walked down the hallway trying to find Imogen. She wasn't anywhere that I could see her. I stopped in my tracks and sighed sadly.

Almost a second later, I heard intense sobbing coming from the supply closet next to me. The longer I stood there, the more I recognized the voice. It was Imogen.

I opened the door, which startled her.

"I'm sorry." I breathed. I looked at her face, the mascara running down her cheeks. I noticed how her lips quivered and her eyes were stained red. She wiped her eyes, looking away from me.

I walked in the closet ad closed the door after me. I picked her up off of the ground and sat down, bringing her down on my lap.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her shoulder.

She laid back the of her head into my neck and continued sobbing.

"What's wrong?" I whispered. She choked on her sobs trying to find a way to speak.

"Y-you're going to think so wrong of me after I tell you this." She sobbed. I kissed her temple and shook my head.

"Nothing in the world could ever make me see you as anyone but a smart, beautiful, talented young lady." I reassured. She turned to me, her fresh tears streaming down her face.

"Really?" she whispered. I nodded my head, smilng softly.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

_**-Imogen's P.O.V-**_

I kept my eyes closed, too afraid to open them.

"When you heard my mom call me a slut, she wasn't lying." I said, my voice shaky. I could feel his eyes burning me with confusion, but I tried to remain calm.

"I don't even know where to start!" I cried. Eli kissed me on the cheek, letting his lips linger over my face for a few extra seconds.

"Just breathe." He whispered. I sighed and opened my eyes.

"I'll take it back to when I was 15 years old…" I started.

_-Flash back-_

_2 year's earlier…_

_I sat on my bed with my short hello kitty shorts on and my pink tank top. I was twisting a strand of my hair with my finger, thinking of the epic party that was tonight. _

_My phone started to buzz so I walked over to my dresser to pick it up. _

"_Hello?" I answered. _

"_Yo baby! You goin too Jamaica's party tonight?" a random guy asked over the phone. I walked back over to my bed and lay across it. _

"_Yes, Ty. I will be there looking hot!" I responded, laughing. Ty was one of my many boy toys. _

"_You gon' save me a dance?" he asked. I bit my lip, smiling. _

"_Maybe." I whispered seductively. A knock sounded from my door so I sat up and looked at it. _

"_Yes?" I asked. _

"_Are you clothed baby sis?" Joshua, my older brother asked from the other side of the door._

"_Hold on!" I called back. _

"_Hey Ty, I'll call you back!" I told him through the phone. _

"_Iight baby!" he said before hanging up. I slammed my phone shut and sat it on my night stand. _

"_Come in!" I said. Josh opened my door, a smile on his face. _

"_Dude did you see this?" he asked, coming to sit on my bed next to me. He had his phone in his hand. I looked at the screen and laughed. It was a picture of a girl named Diymond bent over, half of her ass hanging out disgustingly. I pushed his phone away. _

"_Why the fuck are you showing me this?" I laughed._

"_It's hilarious!" he responded. I rolled my eyes playfully. _

"_So, are you going to Jamaica's party tonight?" I asked. josh shook his head. _

"_Nope! I have to study for Final Exams. If I don't pass these exams, I won't be able to graduate this year." He said. I stuck my tongue out. _

"_You're so lame!" I mocked, walking up to my mirror and checking myself out. _

"_Whatever." He joked. I turned around and smiled. _

"_Well I'm going!"_

_Joshua's eyes widened._

"_No, you're not. There's going to be seniors at this party!" Josh said. I rolled my eyes and ran over, sitting on the floor by his feet. _

"_I can handle myself. I'm a big girl." I said. Even though I was only 15, I had basically slept with half of the boys in my school and I was very well experienced with alcohol. _

_Joshua sighed and scratched his smooth brown hair. _

"_Well then, I guess I'm going. I can't let my baby sister go to something like this with no one to be her body guard." He laughed. I clapped my hands together, laughing._

"_You're the best big bro ever!" I said. He stood up, walking to the door. _

"_Yeah, yeah." He laughed. I ran over and closed the door. I seriously did have the best brother ever. We were tremendously close and could tell each other everything. I couldn't imagine my life without him…_

…

_I stood in front of my mirror looking at my outfit. I had on super short black shorts with a strapless red shirt that showed my smooth, flat stomach. _

"_Lookin good, Moreno." I smiled. My hair was straight down and my make-up was beyond flawless. _

"_Now I just need to find my black heels…" I mumbled, walking into my closet and searching through it. I heard my door open and stuck my head out to see who it was. It was Josh._

"_Are you ready now?" he asked. _

"_Just a sec!" I said as I found my heels. He sat on my bed and sighed annoyingly. _

"_Why does it always take you so long?" he asked. I walked out, my heels in hand._

"_Why do you always want to be so early?" I asked, slipping them on. _

"_Early? It's 9 o'clock. The party started at 8." He said. _

"_Whoops." I mumbled, giggling. _

_After I was finally done getting dressed, we walked downstairs. My mother was sitting on the couch my dad. _

_She looked up and smiled when she saw Josh, but frowned when she saw me. _

"_Going out tonight?" she asked rudely. I cleared my throat and nodded._

"_Yes, mom… just to a party." I said nervously. She narrowed her eyes at me, scrunching her face. She turned to Josh and smiled._

"_Have fun honey." She said. She turned to me again and narrowed her eyes. _

"_Try not to bring a baby back." she said. My dad shushed her. _

"_Thanks, mom." I whispered as me and Josh walked out of the house. She always showed favoritism to Josh, and showed lots of dislike toward me. It actually really bothered me. _

_Josh wrapped his arms around me reassuringly._

"_Mom is just being herself. It's okay." He said. I nodded my head._

_We got in the car and he drove quickly to Jamaica's house, which was crowded with cars and people. Music was blaring loudly from inside, filling the outdoors. _

_We got out of the car and almost instantly, guys were all over me. A boy named Heath grabbed my ass and I turned around, smiling at him. _

"_I think I remember you." I laughed. He nodded his head, leaning up against Josh's car. _

"_Of course you do! Remember the boiler room last week?" he said smugly. I nodded my head._

"_Ohhhhh yeahhhh!" I said slowly. Josh walked over to us. _

"_Imogen, I'm going to go chill with Jose! Don't go off being too loose." He warned. I rolled my eyes, ignoring him._

_As soon as he walked away, more guys, including seniors started crowding me. I bit my lip, smiling. _

_One of the guys asked if they could feel my boobs and I gladly let him along with two others. _

"_Yo! Imma need a dance! Let's go inside!" this other boy told me. _

_We walked inside, the hip hop music deafening me. Everyone was either up against the wall making out or dirty dancing in the center of the room. _

"_Who wants to dance?" I asked. One of the boys named Justin wrapped his arms around my slender waist from behind and kissed my cheek. I could smell the liquor in his breath and I instantly wanted some. _

"_I wanna dance!" he laughed drunkly. Another boy walked in front of me, feelin me up with his eyes. _

"_I wanna dance, too." He said. He had a full cup of beer in his hands which I gladly took. I started drinking it quickly, laughing. _

"_Let's sandwhich!" I suggested. They both laughed as I walked them to the center of the living room. Justin stayed behind me, grinding me from the backside while the other guy stayed facing me, grinding me from the front. _

_I moaned softly and took a large sip of the beer, smiling. The boys felt all over my body as if I was the sexiest thing at the party, which amused me. _

_The guy in front of me sucked on my neck, causing me to moan a little louder. He pulled back, smiling._

"_How about we go upstairs?" he suggested. I smirked. _

"_As long as Justin can go." I said, nodding to the guy grinding behind me. He nodded his head in agreement. _

"_It's a deal then." I laughed. They started dragging me to the stairs. All of a sudden, commotion came out of nowhere and a fight broke lose._

…

I wiped my tears and hissed painfully. Eli looked into my eyes, wondering what I would say next. I took a deep breathe and sighed.

"And that's when the gun shots went off…"

**Author's Note: OKAY GUYS WAT DO YOU THINK? Picture imogen's brother as this tall, sexy tan dream. Like Taylor Lautner :P well leave me some reviews!**

**Follow me on Twitter; I follow back: AshleyMocha12**


	11. Unforgettable Memories

**Author's Note: Warning: child abuse… **

**Read, Review, & Enjoy…**

"Gun shots?" Eli asked. I nodded my head slowly. I swallowed the gigantic lump in my throat and tried to search for words to say.

_-flash back- _

_All I could hear was screaming and all I saw were people running. I got bumped all over the place, people running anxiously for the front door. _

_The gun shots went off again and my head started spinning. I couldn't see, I couldn't think… It was like my mind stepped completely out of my body. _

_I crawled lazily to the staircase, the only place I could come in contact with. _

_I heard my name being called over the commotion, but it was muffled. I tried to run up the steps scared that it was the gun man coming for me but I ended up tripping and falling. _

_My head went banging against one of the stairs, blacking out instantly. _

…

_I felt someone holding on to me breathing heavily. I slowly awoke to see Jose, my brothers best friend. _

"_J-jose?" I said weakly. I felt a bright light shining down on me so I looked around. We were in the back of what looked like an ambulance truck, but we were still parked outside of Jamaica's house. Jose stroked his finger through my hair sadly._

"_You got hurt during the shooting." He said. I instantly remembered the shooting and gasped. _

"_Was I shot?" I asked frantically. He shook his head slowly, looking down. I sighed of relief. All of a sudden, my stomach dropped and I looked back up at Jose. _

"_Where's Josh?" I whispered. Jose shook his head again, his eyes stricken with pain. My eyes automatically started to tear as my heart began to race. I sat up quickly, my head still spinning._

"_W-what do you mean? Where the hell is he?" I screamed. He looked into my eyes, which broke my heart. _

"_He was…he was shot." Jose said, holding back tears. Tears spilled down my face and I covered my mouth. _

"_Is he okay?" I cried. Jose slowly shook his head, a tear falling from his eye. _

"_He died instantly. There was nothing they could do." He choked out painfully, his eyes not daring to look at mine. I felt the air being sucked out of me as I finally processed what he just said to me. _

"_Don't lie to me!" I screamed, crying furiously. He wrapped his arms around me, crying softly. _

"_NOOO! NO NO NO NOOOOOO!" I cried agonizingly. I struggled, trying to get out of his arms, my breaths coming out in sharp pants. _

"_Let me go! I need to see him!" I cried. _

"_He's gone." Jose cried. _

"_Noooo." I replied, clinging to Jose desperately. Tears burned my eyes, pain filling my heart. _

_-flash back over-_

"He's gone." I whispered, my face stained with dry tears. I looked up at Eli whose face was stricken with sorrow.

He put his hands to my face and kissed my cheek, pulling away sadly.

"Imogen, I am _so _sorry." He whispered painfully. More tears streamed down my cheeks and I closed my eyes.

"Eli do you know how it feels to lose someone so close to you?" I croaked.

"Yes. I do." He said, barely a whisper. I opened my eyes slowly, staring at him mournfully.

"Who?" I whispered. He sighed shakily and looked at me.

"My ex-girlfriend, Julia. She meant more to me than breathing." He said, his eyes turning red. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed the top of his head. He wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face in my chest.

I cried softly into his hair and groaned painfully.

"Believe it or not, my brother's death was just the beginning of my problems." I whispered. Eli pulled back confusedly.

"What?" he asked. I gulped and looked down reminiscing on the painful memories.

_-flash back-_

_I sat in the morgue, Jose's grip still tight around me. We were both crying, mine being the worst. Josh was Jose's best friend. They did EVERYTHING together, they were practically brothers, and Josh WAS my brother. The brother who I adored in so many ways…and just like that, he was gone. _

_All of a sudden I heard frantic footsteps and wailing coming from down the hall. I looked in the direction saw my mom running over to us, my dad following after her. She had just arrived. _

_Jose and I stood up, walking over to meet them. _

"_Mom!" I cried, reaching out to hug her. She pushed my arms away, running to the police officer. I started to cry harder, my dad coming over to hug me. _

_I could hear my mom's screeching cries as the officer told her what happened. _

"_Imogen!" she hollered. I turned around and saw her stomping toward me. I opened my mouth to speak but was silenced by the back of her hand smacking across my face. Hard. I fell to the ground crying in pain. _

"_Why couldn't it have been you? WHY JOSH? I wish it was YOU who died, NOT HIM!" she hollered, choking on sobs. _

"_Emily!" my dad shouted. He pulled her away as she wailed helplessly, leaving me to whimper on the ground. Jose wrapped his arms securely around me. _

"_She doesn't mean that, Imogen." Jose whispered. I moaned painfully, my eyes burning and stinging with tears. _

"_Yes she does." I cried. "I know she does." _

_Jose continued to try to soothe me, but nothing any one could say would be able to fill the hole that was now in my heart. My brother is gone. _

_-flash back over-_

I looked up at Eli whose eyes were shining. He shook his head.

"She…she said that?" he whispered painfully. I nodded my head slowly while taking shallow breaths.

"It wasn't long after that when the bruises started to show up." I said shakily. Eli narrowed his eyes.

"Bruises?" he asked. I nodded my head.

"Bruises." I responded.  
><em>-flash back- <em>

_I sat on my bed mourning. It had been two weeks since Joshua died and my life was already a complete wreck. _

_Mom wouldn't come out of her room, dad worked late and all him and mom would do was argue whenever he was home. _

_When mom would see me, she'd cuss me out and make me feel worse about what happened. _

_I looked at the picture of Josh and I on the first day of school. The first day of his SENIOR year… I cried harder, not knowing if I even had any tears left. I kissed the picture. _

"_I miss you so much." I cried. _

_Seconds later, my mom bammed on my door, screaming my name. It startled me. I quickly ran to the door and opened it. _

"_Yes mom?" I asked shakily. She had a bottle of whiskey in her hands and she looked as if she was plain out drunk._

"_You didn't do your chores!" she screamed. I wiped my eyes._

"_I-I'm sorry. Can I please do them a little bit later?" I pleaded. _

"_**NO!**__" she screamed. I looked into her eyes and noticed how red they were; how she had black, leaky mascara stained down her cheeks. _

"_Mom, please." I whispered. Out of nowhere, she slammed the bottle against my face, making me collapse into the wall beside me._

_I whimpered as I felt the blood trailing down my cheek; the broken glass and smell of whiskey all around me. _

_My mom walked in my room and slammed the door shut. I slid down the wall and put my hand up to my face, hissing in pain. _

"_When I tell you to do something, you do it!" she screamed in my face. I started to cry, the tears burning my cut. _

_She kicked me __**hard **__in the stomach, causing me to choke on a sob. _

_I moaned painfully, crouching over and grabbing my belly. _

"_Do you hear me?" she screamed. I couldn't speak; I could hardly breathe. I tried to talk but I couldn't._

_She grabbed my hair, pulling my head back. I groaned in pain. She clenched her teeth._

"_Answer me!" she demanded. I nodded my head quickly. _

"_Y-Yes!" I managed to choke out. She slammed my head against the wall and walked out, slamming the door. _

_I felt very dizzy and my body ached all over. I sobbed painfully as I crawled to the bathroom in my room. I slowly stood up, my stomach sending jolts of pain through my body. _

_I looked at my face and noticed the giant cut, shards of glass stuck in it. Blood gushed out of the cut, smearing the side of my face with dark red blood. _

_I noticed the huge knot growing on the side of my head where she hit it up against the wall. I lifted my shirt to see a dark brown bruise where she kicked me. _

_The sight of these things brought me back to the ground in fresh tears. _

_Never has my mother __**ever **__hit me like this before. _

_-flash back over- _

Eli held on to me tightly as I sobbed into his chest. He ran his fingers through my hair and kissed my forehead.

"Abusing me just became a regular routine after that." I gulped.

"Why didn't you tell anybody?" he asked frantically.

"Who could I tell? I have NO family here. I have no one, Eli." I cried.

He breathed heavily before answering.

"We have to do something." He breathed. I looked up at Eli and shook my head quickly.

"No, Eli! You can't do _anything _about this." I said shakily.

"After what you told me, there has to be _something_ that I can do." Eli protested. I shook my head again.

"I'm handling it!" I persuaded. He narrowed his eyes.

"How?" he asked. I sighed deeply.

"She…she hasn't hit me in a while." I lied. Eli looked at me sadly.

"Those bruises that I seen yesterday… they were new." He whispered.

"Yeah, but right after that she _promised _me she'd never do it again!" I cried. Eli shook his head angrily.

"Why are you trying to protect her?" he snapped. I bit my lip and looked away.

"I'm not." I said quietly.

The truth is, I was trying to protect her. No matter how much my mom verbally and physically abused me, I loved her with all of my heart. I was still hoping that one day…maybe she'd change.

"Where's your dad?" Eli asked. I shook my head and sighed sadly.

"He couldn't handle my mom anymore. He tried to stay with her to be there for me, but she just kept pushing him away. One night he just up and left. A few months later we found out that he moved to the States and met a new woman. He currently has a two-year-old son and a new born baby. He's happy. He left me…and he's happy."

I began to tear as I watched Eli's pained expression.

"He wants to be in my life… BUT I **HATE** HIM. I hate him for leaving me with her! I hate him so much!" I spat through clenched teeth.

Eli wrapped his arms around me as I sobbed into his neck.

"I have no one!" I cried. He rubbed my back and kissed my neck over and over.

"You have me…and I'm not going _anywhere._ I promise you that." He whispered.

"Please tell me you mean that." I breathed.

"More than anything." He responded. I smiled through my tears and remained in his arms; finally feeling like something was right in my life.

**Author's Note: I almost cried D': poor Imogen! And I just hate that bitch of a mom that she has! UGH! Reviews please? I haven't been receiving many lately and it upset me **** so please review if your reading? THANKYOU! [:**

**Follow me on Twitter; I follow back: AshleyMocha12**


	12. Deja Vu'

**Author's Note: I'm soooo sorry for not updating sooner =/ school and such is so time consuming ****L** **anyway, enjoy Chapter 12!**

Imogen's P.O.V

I walked inside of the house, closing the door quietly. I didn't hear anything, which was a good sign.

I walked slowly up to my room and cracked my door shut. I collapsed on the bed and closed my eyes. Almost instantly, my room door burst open. I sat up to see a tall, gruff looking man.

My mouth dropped and my eyes widen. My hands began to shake.

He smiled devilishly and stepped in slowly, standing by the door.

"I'm your mom's boyfriend." He said huskily.

I swallowed repeatedly and scooted back against the headboard.

"O-Oh yeah?" I said shakily. He started to walk slowly over to the bed, the same smile on his face. He bit his lip.

"Yeah." He whispered. I started to breathe heavily as I grew more and more scared.

"TONY!" I heard my mother scream from the other room. The man stopped in his tracks and turned his head toward the door.

"Yeah?" he asked, clearly irritated.

"Come here!" she screamed back. He sighed and walked out of my room. I ran to the door and locked it quickly. I started to breathe shakily, tears swelling in my eyes.

"N-No. Noo." I whispered. "Please. Not again…"

Eli's P.O.V

I lay on my bed looking up at the ceiling. I was thinking about all of the terrible things that Imogen had told me that day. She was more broken than I had ever imagined. It truly broke my heart.

I turned over on my side, staring outside of the window. It was raining lightly. As I got up and walked slowly to the window, Imogen's tears burned in my memory.

I couldn't believe that I had let her go home to that evil bitch… but like she said, there was nothing I could do. I absolutely hated that.

My phone started to buzz so I walked over to the bed and grabbed it. It was Fiona.

I answered the phone and cleared my throat.

"Hello?" I asked hoarsly.

"Eli?" she asked.

"…Yes?" I asked back. I could hear her sigh over the phone.

"What's wrong?" she asked after a minute.

"Nothing." I said, no emotion in my voice.

"There is _obviously _something wrong. You, nor Imogen came back AND I got in trouble with Mrs. Hyser because apparently I wasn't 'watching' K.C and he set off the classroom's fire alarm!" she yelled. I sighed heavily.

"Not now, Fiona. Please." I begged.

"Fine! Call me when you get your head out of your ass!" she said before hanging up. I slowly closed my phone and closed my eyes.

So much was going through my head and I couldn't handle it.

I thought about calling Imogen but something told me not to. It was probably best just to let her call me if she needed me.

I sat by the window and watched the rain falling, and I couldn't help but shed a tear.

…

Imogen's P.O.V

I lay awake in bed staring at the clock on my nightstand. It was 12:43 am. All night long, I was sleep deprived due to Mom and Tony's disturbing moans. I was finally glad when it stopped.

I rolled over on my side toward the door when I heard it being cracked open.

Tony slowly walked in, a grin on his face.

"Are you awake?" he whispered.

"Y-Yeah." I stuttered. He walked to the foot of my bed and stood there. I instinctively backed up against the headboard, scared to death.

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"You." He said, smiling disgustingly.

This twisted my stomach into angry knots and I already knew what was about to happen. He slowly climbed in bed with me.

I moved as far away from him as possible but he put his hand on my wrist, paralyzing me. My eyes searched his with angry fear.

"My mom won't like this." I said, my eyes tearing. He pushed me down and slowly climbed on top of me causing me to gasp. He kissed my neck and groaned pleasurably.

"She doesn't have to know." He whispered, kissing my neck again.

I started to breathe heavily, tears silently sliding down my face.

"Can you please stop? I don't want to do this." I cried. He covered my mouth and bit my neck causing me to muffle a scream through his hand.

"Just shut up and it will all be over soon." He whispered angrily. I started to cry quietly.

I didn't want to do this. I felt like I was about to die.

He removed his hand from my mouth just long enough to rip my shirt off. I whimpered painfully. He started groping my breasts, licking my neck anxiously.

"STOP!" I screamed. He pulled back to look at my face and then backhanded me.

"Shut the fuck up!" he hissed. I moaned painfully bringing my hand up to my burning face. He dipped down, tugging at my shorts as I eagerly tried to keep them up with my weak hand.

He bent my fingers back as I groaned in agony.

"JUST LET ME FINISH!" he growled. I shook my head repeatedly, still fighting back.

He wrapped his hand around my neck, gently choking me. I gagged, my face turning red.

"You seem like the rough type." He laughed, struggling to remove his pants.

"N-n-no." I tried to say, but I couldn't manage to choke anything out.

Seconds later, I felt him roughly push into me. The pain was overbearing. He kept his hand around my neck grunting and mumbling things such as "You like that?"

My mind shut down, the oxygen leaving my lungs as I slowly blacked out.

…

I woke up the next morning, the sun shining in through the window. I slowly sat up, my body aching all over.

I moaned weakly as I tried to stand up from my bed, just to collapse back on it. Of course my legs were painfully sore. I felt my eyes and they were lightly wet.

Last night after Tony was finally done with me, all I could do was cry.

My door creaked open again and all that came to mind was if Tony was coming back for more.

I turned my body forcefully toward the door to see my mom, a large bottle of Whiskey in her hand.

"Tony said you're not feeling well?" she yelled, taking a large sip from the bottle. I sat up and looked at my mother.

"Y-yeah. I think I'm catching something." I said, sniffling.

"Whatever. If you want to miss school and think you're just going to sit around on your ass, you have another thing comin!" she screamed.

"What do you mean?" I asked. She threw her bottle at my wall, the alcohol splashing everywhere.

"Get down here and clean up EVERYTHING!" she hollered.

How was I supposed to clean? I could barely move. I nodded my head.

"Yes ma'am. I'll be down there in a minute." I said tiredly, my eyes puffy.

She walked out, slamming my door. I groaned and attempted to stand up again. My legs felt like weights dragging me down.

"Ahhhh." I gasped, the pain between my legs unbearable. I thought back on older memories, of the many guys mom brought home. How almost ALL of them would come into my room and do things to me.

I had gotten so used to it by the millionth time, that I wouldn't even cry anymore. I'd just lay there and suffer the pain. It had been a few months since the last time she had a guy over.

Seeing that the molestation and rape was starting again, I had no idea what I was going to do. I slowly and painfully drug myself into the bathroom in my room. I trudged over to the bathtub and turned the hot water on, filling it up to the top.

I sat on the edge of the tub and just stared into the water, watching as the steam evaporated around the room.

Laying in hot water had always helped the pain go away so I just collapsed in there, clothes and all.

I lay underwater, my eyes wide open. After a while of just laying there, I came up. I moved my drenched hair out of my face and breathed heavily.

I could feel the throbbing between my legs slowly disappearing. I knew mom was going to come back any minute now and rant, so I quickly got out of the bathtub and let the water out.

I dried my hair and changed into dry clothes. I walked downstairs slowly, my legs still slightly hurting. Mom lay on the couch downing a small bottle of beer. When she saw me walking, she narrowed her eyes.

"Lay off the dildo's. They always make you walk funny." She screeched. I turned to her and frowned sadly.

"I'll try." I mumbled. She and I both knew why I would walk funny, but either she didn't want to believe it or she didn't care.

She ignored my response and got up, stretching her arms.

"I have to go pay the bills." She muttered, walking for the door.

"Mom, you're drunk. Do you need me to drive you?" I asked.

"No, you little bitch. Stay here and do your chores." She said, grabbing her keys.

"W-where's Tony?" I asked, hoping he was gone.

"He's asleep. Why?" she asked. I sighed angrily.

"No reason." I muttered. Mom mumbled things under her breath and as she exited the house.

I turned around and walked upstairs carefully to my room. I grabbed my phone and dialed Eli's number. It rang twice before going to voicemail.

Crap, I forgot he was in class. I slammed my phone down on the bed and walked back downstairs. The house looked a mess and I sadly had to clean it up.

I walked in the kitchen and grabbed the broom and dustpan. I started to sweep up the broken shards of glass from moms nasty habit of slamming her bottles to the ground.

The floor was sticky from all of the alcohol stains and the couch reeked of cigarettes.

After cleaning up all of the cigarettes and glass shards, I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bucket of soap and water with a sponge. I scrubbed at the alcohol stains on the carpet until they were barely noticeable.

After a few hours of cleaning up around the house, mom still wasn't home. I walked tiredly to my room and opened the door only to find Tony in my room holding a piece of my lingerie and touching himself.

I was absolutely, utterly disgusted. He looked up and saw me, smiling.

"I was waiting for you." He slurred. I scrunched my face.

"You're sick!" I screeched, turning to run out of the room.

"Get back here!" he screamed. I desperately tried to run, my legs hurting worse than ever. I only made it to the top of the staircase before he pulled back into the room by my hair.

"Let go of me!" I cried. He slapped me across the face and spit in my face. He threw me on the bed, grabbing me all over. I tried begging him to stop, but he completely ignored me.

He mumbled nasty things as I lay there on the bed in no control over what this bastard was doing to me.

He didn't even consider the fact that I was still sore from the other night.

I cried to myself, praying the he'd be done with me soon.

And that's when the unexpected of the unexpected happened. Mom opened my door.

**Author's Note: ahhhh cliffy ;) sorry this chapter was so short! It's a "filler" chapter, so the next one will be longer, I promise! Now I'm not getting too many reviews, so if you're reading, REVIEWWWWWW! Please? I'll cry if you don't ;) I love you guys!**

**Follow me on Twitter; I follow back: AshleyMocha12 **


	13. SOS

**Author's Note: Sorryyyy dudes :P I left that big cliffy and now I'm just updating, sigh. Blame school, not me. I've been REALLY lazy, but I'm going to continue to update, as long as you continue to review ;) enjoy chapter 13!**

Imogen's P.O.V

When she walked in and saw what was going on, she screamed. Tony quickly moved off of the bed, pulling his pants up.

"Babe, this isn't what it looks like!" he said. I quickly pulled up my shorts while crying helplessly. I was actually relieved that mom had walked in.

"Mom he-

"Don't!" she shouted. I looked at her, my eyes full of confusion. She pointed her finger at me, walking in slowly.

"**YOU ALWAY'S TAKE WHAT'S MINE, DON'T YOU?" **she hollered, her face turning a dark red.

My mouth remained wide open, mixtures of anger and hatred swirling through my mind.

I looked over at Tony who was snickering under his breath.

"But I didn't." I cried, my voice weak and shaky.

"Bull!" she spat. My eyes widened as she jumped across the bed, wrapping her hands around my neck and choking me. I tried desperately to get her hands off.

"M-mom." I croaked. I could feel my face burning.

Tony finally walked over and moved my mother away from me.

"Now, now. Don't kill the girl." Tony said smugly.

"Why not?" Mom screamed, rage overpowering her each second more. Tony wrapped his arms around her and walked out, winking at me before he left.

I regained my breath and took deep breaths; no tears left inside of me to cry.

I slowly walked over to my phone and texted Eli.

_To: Eli_

_Eli... I hate to bother you but, I really need you right now. I have no one else to talk to. _

I sent the text and walked over to my door, locking it. I walked over to a chair and sat down, not wanting to touch that filthy bed. My phone buzzed and I quickly opened it.

_To: Imogen_

_What's wrong, Immy? :( _

I sighed before starting a new text.

_To: Eli_

_Just please... come pick me up? Hurry!_

I quickly sent the text and walked over to my dresser. I pulled out some sweat pants and a tank top. I painfully changed into the clothes, my legs more sore than ever.

My phone buzzed again and I opened the text.

_To: Imogen _

_I'm on my way! _

I sighed of relief, hoping and praying he'd be here soon. I decided to pack a small bag of clothes and some personal items. I wasn't planning on coming home tonight. The parks cold, cemented ground sounded like heaven right about now...

I slowly cracked open my door, listening for any noises. All I could hear was a headboard repeatedly getting smashed against the wall and my mother's raspy moans here and there. I took this as the perfect opportunity to escape.

I quickly stuffed my laptop, phone and their chargers into the bag and quietly tip-toed out of my room.

I walked down the steps and opened the front door walking out as quickly as I could.

My legs were hurting so bad, but I pushed them so that they could at least make it out of the gate. I opened the gate and walked out, not even going back to close it.

I saw Eli pull up and smiled softly, tears welling up in my eyes. I felt as if I was being rescued from a torcher chamber. He opened his door and walked over to me.

"What's going on?" he asked worriedly. I looked back at my house and started to breathe heavily.

"We'll talk about it when we get somewhere safe." I said, walking to Eli's car painfully slow. He noticed and walked over to help me inside.

After we were both locked in the car, he started to drive. He looked over at me as tears silently streamed down my rosy cheeks.

"Can you please tell me what's going on, now?" he asked quietly. I bit my lip, searching for words.

"There was something that I didn't tell you. Something I was desperately avoiding." I said shakily. I didn't dare look at the confused expression on his face.

He pulled into the nearest grocery store parking lot and parked.

He turned to me, frowning. "What didn't you tell me?"

I could hear the nervousness in his voice, but I knew he wasn't half as nervous as I was to tell him. I looked down.

"After my dad left, mom would start bringing random guys home. After...after they were done screwing her..." I began, but my words began to jumble up.

"Then what?" Eli asked, his eyes widening in terror. He knew what I was about to say. I gulped.

"Then they'd come in my room and touch me. Some would even go as far as having unprotected sex with me." I cried. The look on Eli's face was unimaginable. He looked as if he was ready to kill someone. I touched his hand gently.

"Last night... my mom's current boy toy raped me. Then he turned around and tried to do it again this morning but... mom walked in." I said quietly. Eli clenched his jaw.

"What did she do?" he asked firmly. I shook my head.

"She blamed it all on me." I said, the memories cutting me on the inside."She choked me."

Eli closed his eyes and groaned angrily.

"We need to go to the police. This has gone way too far." Eli breathed.

"Eli, no. We can't." I whispered.

He slammed his fist up against the steering wheel.

"What will it take to get you to do something about this? Does she have to put a knife up to your throat?" he screamed. I flinched.

"Please don't yell at me." I begged weakly. He took a deep breath and calmed down.

"I'm sorry." He said. I sighed.

"I know you think I'm being stupid but... my mom is the _only _family- the only _anything_ I really have. My dad is all of the way in the States and my grandparents have all died off. Neither of my parents have siblings." I said. I sniffled and closed my eyes, resting my head against the window.

"You have me." Eli said after a minute. I nodded.

"Well yeah, but without my mom I'd be homeless and-

"I said you have me." Eli interrupted. I turned to face him, my eyes widening.

"What are you saying?" I asked. He smiled shyly and looked down.

"I'm saying that you should come stay with me." he responded.

"R-really?" I asked. He nodded. I was at loss for words; my heart filled with so much warmth. I was so happy, but something about this whole thing made me feel like I would be using Eli, and I could never do that to him.

"I really couldn't ask you to do that for me. Your parents would freak-

"No, they wouldn't. I actually talked to them about it earlier. I was going to ask you if you'd be willing to stay with me. It's the right thing for the both of us." he said softly.

I started to cry again, but this time was different. They weren't tears of hate or pain; they were tears of happiness and appreciation.

"Thankyou, Eli. So much." I cried, flinging my arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my neck, pulling me closer.

…

The ride to his place was sentimental. It was nice and quiet, everything I needed.

As soon as we pulled up to his house, he got out of the car and walked over to open my door. I climbed out of the car and grabbed my bag. Surprisingly, my legs were starting to feel better.

We walked inside of his house and I smiled. Despite the spotted carpet and the run down wall paper, this place

automatically made me feel safer than ever.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, closing and locking the front door.

"Starving." I said, rubbing my growling stomach.

He walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

"We have...cheesecake, left over lasagna and a large coke." he said, his eyes skimming through the fridge.

"I'll take all of it." I mumbled, sitting to the table. Eli chuckled and pulled the food out.

"I'll go heat up the lasagna." he said, sitting a plate of cheesecake in front of me.

"Thankyou." I smiled. He nodded and walked off to heat up the food.

I grabbed the fork on the table and tore off a piece of the delicious looking dessert.

As I ate it, I couldn't control myself. I stuffed it into my mouth as if hadn't eaten in days.

Eli looked over at me and smiled.

"Slow down there, no one's going to take your food." He said, laughing.

I stuck my middle finger up at him causing him to smirk.

The food was finally done heating up and then Eli walked over to bring it to me.

He sat it in front of me and I gratefully thanked him. He sat down next to me and smiled.

I smiled back and started to eat the lasagna. It was delicious and it took a lot in me not to just swallow it up in one bite.

"You have to be hungry, too." I said after stuffing a large bite into my mouth. He shook his head.

"No I'm good." he said softly.

I quickly finished off the rest of the plate and sighed happily.

"Thankyou soo much." I repeated. He smiled and got up from the table.

"Now that you're full, what would you like to do?" he asked.

I shrugged and got up from the table. I walked into the living room and sat down. He walked out of the kitchen and sat down next to me. My stomach got butterflies as I started to worry.

"What if she comes looking for me?" I asked hopefully, yet scared. Eli shook his head doubtfully.

"I honestly don't think she will." he whispered, killing any ounce of hope that she cared enough to even wonder where I was. I laughed sadly.

"Yeah you're probably right." I said quietly. He noticed my sadness and grabbed my hand.

"How do your legs feel?" he asked.

"Better, why?" I asked suspiciously. He stood up and smiled.

"What do you say about having some fun?" he asked. I looked up at him and narrowed my eyes.

"...What did you have in mind?" I asked.

"A little bit of epic dancing should do the trick." he said, laughing.

"You? Dancing? I want to see this." I said, smiling.

He walked over to his Wii and turned it on.

"We're going to dance on the Wii?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

He grabbed the Wii remote and clicked on the "Just Dance" icon.

"Yes. Yes we are." he smirked. I walked over to where he was standing.

"Alright. Where's my Wii remote?" I asked. He handed one to me and showed me how to click it to life.

As soon as we were all adjusted, he clicked on a song. It sounded like some Irish music with a little green man on the screen dancing.

"What is this?" I asked, giggling.

"Ra Ra Rasputin. It's a Russian song. Now follow those little icons on the bottom of the screen and just...dance." Eli said as he started to move.

I noticed how Eli's dancing matched exactly with the dudes on the screen, and then I realized he was winning. I began to dance, it being slightly complicated.

"Eli, how are you so good at this?" I asked. Eli smiled and continued to dance.

"Just have fun with it. Don't worry about winning; just glide through." He said calmly. I followed his advice and started to dance.

It was surprisingly fun. I looked over at Eli as he dropped down low to the floor and I couldn't help but burst out laughing. He saw me laughing and he joined in along with me.

I stumbled on the ground and laughed harder.

"Havin fun?" Eli asked, smirking. I nodded my head.

"Yes, thanks." I responded, smiling brightly. Just being around Eli could make me forget all of my troubles and be happy.

He paused the game and walked over to the couch as I joined him.

After we sat down, he opened his arm hinting that he wanted to cuddle.

I snuggled my head under his neck and wrapped my arm around his waist as he wrapped his securely around me.

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

Eli sighed and stayed quiet for a bit. After a minute he finally spoke up.

"We need to sleep. And then we need to get up and go to school tomorrow." he said simply. I looked up at him.

"O-okay. Sounds like a plan." I said weakly.

We got up off of the couch and walked to his room. He plopped down on the bed and closed his eyes. I walked around his room.

"Can...Can I see your play?" I asked quietly.

His eyes creaked open slowly and he looked at me.

"Huh?" he asked. I took a deep breath and started talking again.

"Can I see your play?"

He sat up and bit his lip as if he was hesitating.

"Uh...you'll find out about it at the play rehearsal." he said, laughing nervously. I slowly walked closer to the bed.

"Can I ask you a question?" I whispered.

"S-sure..." he stuttered, nodding slowly.

I sighed deeply and looked into Eli's eyes.

"Did you write that play about me?" I asked weakly.

**Author's Note: Ahhhhhh, ANOTHER cliffy. ;) lol, I know I'm killing you peoples so this will be the last cliffy for a while, but I just love them so much. I'll TRY to update sooner, but do me a HUGE favor and...**

**Yup you guessed it, LEAVE ME A REVIEW :) please? Much appreciated :D I love you guys!**

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	14. Closure

**Author's Note: Uh... hey? :)**

***blocking- the movement on stage from the actors/actresses.**

Eli's P.O.V

I breathed shakily and slowly shook my head.

"No, of course not!" I lied. She seemed unconvinced.

"Eli..." she whispered. I could see the look in her eyes, and I knew it was time to fess up. I took a deep breath and sat up.

"I didn't really write it _about _you... you were just my inspiration." I confessed.

"So... you think that... I was just some broken chick... you didn't even know me... how could you-" she struggled trying to find her words.

I got up from the bed and walked over to her. I could tell that she was eagerly trying not to cry.

"No, not at all." I began. "When I first met you, I knew that you were amazing. I also had a feeling that you were going through some things, and I wanted to be the person to help you."

Imogen sniffed and pulled a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

"In your play, what happened to the girl?" she asked quietly. I smiled a bit and wrapped my arms around her, thinking of what I could possibly say without ruining the ending.

"She was happy." I said after a minute. Imogen rested her head on my shoulder.

"She was happy? She... she had a happy ending?" Imogen asked. I could hear the words from her spirit, how delicately fragile her words felt. I smoothed Imogen's hair and nodded.

"She had a happy ending." I said. Imogen pulled away slowly and frowned sadly.

"Just because the girl in your play got the chance to have a happy ending, it doesn't mean I will." she whispered.

I shook my head and bent down, capturing her lips in soft kisses. Before I could deepen it, she pulled away. I frowned.

"Eli, I'm serious."

"I know, I know. Imogen, you have to stop looking for negative outcomes. Stop looking so far into the future and focus on the now. And right now, you have me. And I'm not going anywhere." I told her; the seriousness of my words echoing the room.

Imogen smiled softly.

"I don't know what I'd do without you." she said sadly. I kissed her forehead and grabbed her hand, walking her to the bed.

She slowly plopped down on the bed and nuzzled her head deep into the pillow, closing her eyes.

I lay down next to her and smiled as she quickly doze off. Truthfully, I didn't know what was going to happen in the future, but I did know I was going to be there every step of the way.

…

We pulled into the Degrassi parking lot and picked a spot close to the outdoor tables.

Imogen quickly exited the truck and tugged at her blue sweater.

I intertwined my fingers with hers and started to walk slowly to the front steps. A few seconds later, Fiona started to walk over to us. She stopped in front of Imogen and frowned.

"Imogen, what's going on? You've basically been MIA for the past week, and Mrs. Hyser is debating on replacing you!" Fiona said angrily.

"Fiona, not now." I warned. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, Imogen? Are you going to explain why-

"Look, bitch." Imogen snapped, releasing her hand from mine. "I really don't give a fuck if you replace me. Kick me out of the _fucking _play if I'm such an issue! In case you even _thought _to care, I'm going through a lot and I don't your stupid, fucking attitude in my face right now!"

Fiona's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. I stood completely still, scared to make a move.

"I...I'm sorry, Imogen..." Fiona said quietly.

"Sure you are." Imogen mumbled, brushing past her and entering the building.

Fiona looked after her, shaking her head regretfully.

"I didn't know." she admitted. I sighed and looked down at Fiona.

"She really _is _going through a lot." I said after a minute. Fiona folded her arms.

"I understand that now, which is why... maybe she shouldn't be in the play." Fiona said slowly.

"_Fiona._" I argued. She groaned.

"Eli, we go on stage in just a few weeks! We can't fool around with this... we gotta keep moving." Fiona said, and sadly I agreed.

"Just... let me talk to her, okay?" I begged. Fiona nodded slowly and bit her lip.

"We have an important rehearsal after school. If Imogen isn't ready to be the role of Maria Delgado by then, we'll need to pick a replacement." Fiona said firmly. I nodded.

"Okay. I'll talk to her."

Fiona frowned a bit and walked off into the building. I clutched my shoulder bag and started for the door. I felt a finger tap on my shoulder, and I turned around to see Clare.

She smiled slightly and looked back and forth between my eyes.

"Hey, Eli." she said softly.

"Hello, Clare." I said coldly. She sighed and looked down.

"I can't believe you're still mad at me." she whispered.

I looked down at her and suddenly, I didn't feel so upset anymore.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm just... tired." I told her. She looked back up at me and her smile came back.

"Okay, that's good." she said happily. I nodded and forced the realist smile I could give.

"So, after you're done dealing with all of the play stuff after school, I was wondering if you'd like to...go to The Dot for some coffees?" she asked nervously.

My stomach took a sharp turn, and I could feel my face turning many shades of red. I didn't respond and she frowned a bit.

"You don't have to... it was just a thought." she said sadly. I cleared my throat and smiled.

"The Dot sounds great." I said. She smiled and nodded cheerfully.

"See you then!" she exclaimed before walking off into the building.

I took a deep breath and felt my chest. I didn't even realize how fast my heart was beating.

There was no reason why Clare and I couldn't be friends. It's not like we were going on some date; she has a boyfriend and I have a girlfriend. I don't know how, but my feelings for Clare were completely irrelevant at the moment.

I walked into the building and headed for my locker. I noticed Imogen standing in front of it, so I stopped in front of her. She looked scared shitless.

"Eli, can you _please _tell Fiona that I am _so _sorry? I just kinda snapped and I didn't mean to take it out on her." Imogen said regretfully.

I laughed quietly and opened my locker.

"She kinda deserved it, don't ya think?" I asked, pulling some books out. She leaned up against the locker beside mine and sighed.

"No, she didn't. She was just concerned about her-, your play. Which... I'm probably getting kicked out of." she said, huffing at the end.

"You're not going anywhere. It's _my _play remember?" I said, a smirk on my face. She squeezed my cheek and pecked it lightly.

"I know, but it still doesn't mean that I had the right to bitch out the director." she said while continuing to tug at her sweater.

"Why do you keep pulling at your shirt?" I asked. She sighed and folded her arms.

"I do that when I'm nervous, now will you please stop changing the subject and listen to me?" she asked. I could tell she was getting irritated. I nodded.

"Fine, I'll tell her. But she wanted me to tell you that... that you have to start showing up to rehearsals and focus so that we won't have to find a replacement." I told her while trying to sound as nice as possible.

She swallowed and took a deep breath. Her eyes wandered off and she rested her head against the locker next to mine.

"Okay." she retorted.  
>"Okay?" I asked, bending my head down to make eye contact with her.<p>

"I said okay." she said back.

"Which means you're going to get focused, right?" I asked. She huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Elijah." she said, and I couldn't help but smile at her. She pushed me playfully and started to walk off.

"Just making sure!" I called after her, still smiling.

"Yeah, yeah." she mocked, continuing to walk. I laughed and took the rest of my books out of my locker, heading to class.

…

The annoying sounds of Mrs. Hyser's shoes tapped around the Drama Room as the Drama Club continued to file in. The bell signaling the end of the school day had sounded over ten minutes ago, and most of the club were still yet to arrive. Mrs. Hyser was getting impatient, as was I.

Fiona sat next to me at the desk as I clutched my script in hand. She had an extra copy in her hands, going through the stage **blocking. **

"Eli, when Maria leans in to kiss Michael, won't the lighting dim a little?" Fiona asked. I turned to her and nodded.

"Uh, yeah. The lights will dim and the violin music will start to play." I told her. She scrunched her face. I narrowed my eyes.

"Is there a problem?" I asked. She shrugged.

"I just think that's ugly." she said simply.

"...ugly? How is it...ugly?" I asked, completely confused.

"_Violin music?_" she asked, stretching out the words. "That's the most terrible way to emphasize the meaning of this kiss. There should be something soft, something subtle, something like... a piano."

"Just because you're the director doesn't mean you can go around changing things."

"Yes, it does."

"No it doesn't!"

"Eli, I don't want to talk about this anymore. We're taking the violin music out and adding in the piano music."

"You're the worst person to work with."

"Gee, thanks."

I clenched my jaw and looked toward the door. The last bit of students had finally shown up.

Mrs. Hyser walked up to the stage and whistled, getting everyone's attention.

"Today is the day that we can _finally _start working on our scenes on stage!" Mrs. Hyser said, smiling. The club clapped for a moment and then the room remained quiet again.

"Can I please have Imogen Moreno and Liam Berish to the stage?" she asked. Liam and Imogen walked onto the stage, the light shining on them.

"Our very own Maria Delgado, and Michael Ceaser." she said, pointing out there names for the production. Liam waved and Imogen just stood there, her face turned from everyone else.

Mrs. Hyser handed them each a script and quickly exited the stage.

Fiona walked up in front of the stage and flipped to a section of the play.

"Scene Three, Act One!" she called.

Liam and Imogen flipped around on their scripts and took their places on the stage.

"Ready?" Fiona asked. They both nodded. "Action!"

"Where are you from?" Liam asked, looking into Imogen's eyes.

"Oh, I'm not from here. I'm actually completely confused as to how to get around here." Imogen said, her newly learned Spanish accent flowing perfectly for her role.

Liam grabbed her hand and took two steps forward. "Let me show you around. I know _exactly _where everything is."

"Stop!" Fiona called. Imogen and Liam looked at her.

"What's the problem?" Liam asked.

"Try to sound more romantic, and less pedophile...ish." Fiona said. The Drama Club snickered and Mrs. Hyser shushed them.

Liam nodded and returned back to character.

"Let me show you around. I know exactlywhere everything is." Liam said, his voice sounding more pure. Fiona nodded in approval.

"What makes you think I trust you. We just met..." Imogen said, releasing her hand from his and walking down to the center of the stage.

Liam followed after her and twisted her around. "Because, I really like you. You seem like an amazing person, and I'd be happy to guide you through this town, which you seem to be completely unsure of."

Imogen smiled lightly and nodded. "And I'd be happy to accompany you, Michael."

Liam and Imogen linked hands and walked off into the back, disappearing off stage. Seconds later, they returned through the stage door.

The Drama Club clapped for them and they both smiled. Mrs. Hyser called three other kids to the stage as Fiona stayed at the front to direct. Imogen walked over to me and smiled.

"How did I do?" she asked, taking Fiona's spot.  
>"You did amazing. And... you seemed <em>really<em> focused." I smirked. "Fiona's impressed."

"Speaking of Fi, did you tell her that I was sorry?" Imogen asked. I groaned.  
>"Man, I completely forgot. I'll tell her when she comes back over here." I told Imogen. She shook her head.<p>

"No, it's okay. I'll do it." Imogen said.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I should probably do it anyway." Imogen said, giggling slightly. I smiled and wrapped my arm around her.

"_Sleeping with the boss?" _a voice screamed from behind us. Imogen and I turned around to see KC standing behind us.

"KC, what the hell are you talking about?" I asked, irritated.

"I saw this in a movie on Lifetime. The girl was sleeping her way to the top! That's how you made the lead over me, I knew I was better than all of you bitches!" KC said, his face red. Imogen huffed and stood up.

"I think you have some serious mental issues." Imogen told him. I snickered under my breath.

"I'm suing you guys!" KC said, pouting.

"With what lawyer?" I asked smugly. KC pondered the thought.

"I'll get my dad to do it! He owns his _own _hotdog stand!" KC said, smiling. I sighed annoyingly and turned away from KC's irritation.

"I'll see you in court! Ha!" KC said, walking off to join the rest of the Drama Club.

Imogen sat back down and we both burst into harmonies of laughs. What would we do without KC?

"What are you doing after school?" Imogen asked, leaning back in her seat. I cleared my throat and started smoothing out my hair.

"Just going out for coffees with Clare." I said casusally. Imogen looked up at me.

"Oh... isn't that your ex girlfriend?" Imogen asked, swallowing.

"Yeah, but we're just going to... do an interview. She writes for the school newspaper." I lied. Imogen seemed to have calmed down and smiled.

"Okay... tell her I say hi." Imogen said, looking at the actors on stage.

I could already feel my throat going dry.

…

The rehearsals ended on a good note and I was feeling pretty confident about the play.

I looked over and noticed Fiona and Imogen talking and laughing, which was a good sign. They noticed me staring and walked over to me.

"Hey Eli, Imogen's coming to my house to hang out." Fiona said, smiling. I looked over at Imogen who was nodding in agreement.

"Okay, I'll be at The Dot... have fun." I told them. They both walked off as if they were best friends.

I looked after them and sighed, grabbing my bag. I took out my phone to send Clare a text.

_To: Clare_

_I'll be at the Dot in a sec._

I put my phone in my pocket and walked out of the Drama room. As I was walking out of the building into the cool air, my phone buzzed. I took it out and read the text from Clare.

_To: Eli _

_I'm already here, I'll see you soon :) xoxo_

Xoxo? Huh? What in the...?

I climbed in the truck and quickly drove to The Dot. I exited the car and walked through the glass door, searching for Clare. She was seated at a table by the window, and I slowly walked over to meet her. She smiled when she saw me.

"Hey, Eli. Glad you could make it." Clare said as I took a seat. I nodded and cleared my throat.

"Yeah, me too." I said. I looked around, the awkwardness overbearing.

"So, Eli... I've noticed that you and Imogen have been together a lot lately." Clare said, forcing a smile.

"Yeah, she's-

"Jake and I broke up." Clare interrupted. I tilted my head.

"Really? Why?" I asked, leaning forward in confusion. Clare looked down sadly and gulped.

"Our parents are... our parents are getting married." Clare said, her eyes turning glassy. My mouth dropped.

"That's... terrible, Clare. I'm really sorry." I told her sincerely. She sniffed and nodded her head, forcing another smile.

"It's fine, really. Anyway, I've really missed you." she said, staring into my eyes. My palms started to sweat.

"I've uh, missed you too Clare." I mumbled. She slowly grabbed my hand and held on to it, caressing it. I looked down at our hands and my breathing hitched.

"I've _really _missed you." she said softly. I swallowed repeatedly, my face burning hot.

"Clare, I-

"I think that we should... try it out again." she interrupted. I narrowed my eyes.

"Try what out?" I asked.

"Us, silly." she said, smiling.

That was it.

I snatched my hand back and shook my head. Clare's face twisted in confusion. I could feel my lungs closing in.

"I have a girlfriend. Imogen, Imogen is my girlfriend." I told her, my heart beat going 1000 miles per seconds.

She looked down and nodded slowly.

"Oh, that's great. I'm happy for you, Eli." she said sadly. I stared at Clare, sadness and pain mixed into my expression.

"I'm really sorry, Clare." I told her quietly. She sniffed and continued to nod, not daring to look at me.

After a minute of awkward silence, Clare grabbed her bag and forced a smile to me.

"I better get going. Gotta study!" she told me, standing up from the table.

"Should I drive you?" I asked. She quickly shook her head.

"I'll be fine... I'll see you around." she mumbled before darting out of The Dot.

I remained in my seat, many emotions going through me. I loved Clare, but... I wasn't _in _love with her anymore. She knew it, and I knew it. But it doesn't mean that closure doesn't still hurt...closure...

**Author's Note: Leave reviews? :) sorry if the clare/eli seemed a little rushed, but this is an Imogeli fic so.. yeah.. :P **

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	15. Ghost from Moreno's past

**Author's note: You already know my excuse for not updating sooner… laziness. Yes, I am sorry. :P welp, here's Chapter 15. Enjoy. ****J**

Imogen's P.O.V

I sat at Fiona's kitchen table practicing my lines as Fiona worked on the costumes. I looked over at her and saw her stitching up some diamonds onto one of my costume dresses.

"You're working pretty hard on this, aren't you?" I asked, closing my script. She looked up at me and nodded, quickly bringing her attention back to the dress.

"We have a deadline… I'm almost done with these costumes but I still feel pressured to finish them." Fiona said. I nodded and walked over to her, picking up some cloth.

"Need any help?" I asked. Fiona looked up at me and raised her eyebrow.

"You know how to stitch up clothes?" she asked, shocked. I laughed quietly and sat down, picking up one of the other dresses.

"I used to stitch together my own clothes when I was younger. My mom was always such a bitch about the clothes she bought me, so I'd buy my own things and add it to the church clothes she got me until I was old enough to buy my own clothes."

Fiona laughed and handed me the appropriate stitching for the sundress.

"Just put those near the torso area, I'm sure it'll look gorgeous in the light." Fiona said; a grin on her face.

As I started to stitch on the fluorescent cloth, my phone started to buzz. I put the fabric down and walked over to my phone to see an unknown number.

"Um... hello?" I said awkwardly.

"Imogen? Oh, Imogen, it's you..." The voice said. The man behind the phone sounded middle-aged, and it kind of frightened me.

"Who the hell is this?" I gasped, staring at Fiona as she eyed me suspiciously.

"Imogen... it's me, your dad." The man said. My mouth instantly dropped, and I was at complete loss for words. I cleared my throat and slowly took the phone away from my ear.

"Who is it?" Fiona asked, walking over to me. I remained staring into space, my vision slightly blurring.

"It's my dad." I said slowly. Fiona looked at me awkwardly and then stared down at my phone.

"Is everything alright?" she asked; confused. I looked at her and moved some hair out of my face.

"Could you excuse me? This is kind of important." I asked nicely. She nodded.

"Of course." she answered. I grabbed my jacket and walked outside, quickly closing the door after me. I inched the phone back up to my ear and swallowed.

"D-dad?" I stuttered, my eyes moving around frantically.

"Yes, this is your father. I've missed you so much, Imogen." He said, and I could feel the sympathy in the mans voice.

"How do I know this is _really _my dad, huh? You think some random dude is going to call me and claim he's my father and I'll just believe him?" I asked shakily, even though I knew it was really him. I could hear it in his voice.

"Do you want me to prove it? Ask me anything, muffin." He said quickly. I sighed and looked around.

"What was the name of my stuffed pig that you bought me for my third birthday?" I asked. He laughed for a second before answering.

"Crispy." he laughed. I smiled slightly and nodded to myself, looking down. My smile quickly faded away.

"Dad." I said; barely a whisper.

"It's really me, I swear. I... I've really missed you. I've missed your voice, and your face. I've missed your mom too." He said, each word stinging harder than the other.

"You've missed me? Then why haven't you ever made an attempt to come see me, or call me for that matter? You don't know how hard it's been without you and you just left and started a new life; forgetting about the family you left behind!" I screamed; anger overpowering me.

"Imogen, I know I haven't been there and I'm sorry-

"Do _not _apologize to me and then think it's all going to be okay! Thinking that two little words full of absolutely nothing is going to take away those depressing, overbearing months of abuse and pain that I had to endure while you were out pretending like I never existed!" I interrupted, my voice trembling. Seconds later Fiona stepped out, looking at me worriedly.

"Imogen, are you okay?" she whispered, touching my shoulder. I looked at her and shook my head sadly, waiting for my dad to say something.

"I know that saying things over the phone won't change much, which is why I'm going to be in town in a few days and I'd love the chance to sit down with you and your mother." he said, so much remorse in his tone that I wanted to throw up.

"So that you can rub your perfect family in our faces?" I asked regretfully. I heard him sigh heavily.

"It's just going to be me, sweetheart. I need to see you. You have no idea how guilty I've been feeling since the day I left. I thought about you guys every day and night, and I never forgot about you. Ever." he replied. I laughed sarcastically and shook my head.

"You're so full of it! You think you can use those cheesy lines from some Drama movie and I'll be _moved _to tears or whatever? This is real life dad, not some show! You made your decision the day you left; you don't get a second chance." I said sharply before slamming my phone shut. I started to breathe heavily, avoiding Fiona's eyes.

"Imogen?" she asked after a minute. I looked up at her, eagerly trying not to cry. I felt like all of the tears left in me were feeding away at my heart bit by bit.

"I think I should go." I said quickly, making my way around Fiona. She pulled my shoulder back gently and looked into my eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it? I'm here to talk if you-

"_No! _I just need to leave, okay? I'm sorry." I interrupted, more forcefully than intended. She nodded understandingly and moved aside so that I could get by.

I walked inside and grabbed my stuff, quickly walking out of the house and making my way down the sidewalk. I walked slowly; my mind trailing off in many different directions.

I felt so confused. Everything just felt like a dream. I kept asking myself if that had just happened; my dad randomly calling me after long months of absence. Were those really the words I wanted to say to him after all of that time? I wasn't sure of anything; I wasn't even sure where I was going.

I crossed the street, walking over to a deserted looking park that was a few blocks from Fiona's apartment. I opened the gate and walked in, walking over to a rusty,old swing.

As soon as I had sat down, the swing collapsed to the ground, bringing me down with it.

"Son of a bitch!" I screamed, quickly looking around to see if anyone saw me. Gladly, I was by myself.

I picked myself back up and rubbed my arm which was slightly throbbing from the fall. Thunder rumbled above me; the clouds turning gray. A slight breeze whooshed past me; the wind making the tiny hairs on my skin stand on end. I looked around the small park and saw a hooded slide in the corner.

Just as the rain started to pelt down on me, I scurried under the slide and out of the sudden rain. I shivered unknowingly as my eyes continued to search the deserted park.

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, and my stomach sank. The immediate thing that came to mind was that he was calling me again. Maybe to apologize again, maybe to yell at me for what I said... I wasn't sure. I slowly pulled the phone out of my pocket and noticed that it was my mother.

I groaned and debated on whether or not to answer it. I haven't talked to her since the other day, and I really wasn't planning on talking to her any sooner.

Finally, I decided that it wouldn't hurt to see what she wanted, so I picked up the phone and put it to my ear; not saying a word.

"Imogen? I know you're there, so don't act like you're not you little bitch!" she screamed, her voice infuriated with a mix of smokers cough. I cleared my throat.

"What do you want?" I asked; emotionless.

"I see you caught yourself trying to _run away from home _ like the little attention whore that you are. I honestly could care less... You weren't wanted here anyway." she snapped. I shook my head quickly; eagerly trying to brush off her spiteful words.

"That's why I'm never coming back! I hate you, I hate Tony, and I hate that sickening house! You're just a washed up, alcoholic,pothead who will spend the rest of your life laying up under some pervert who doesn't want _you, _but your teenage daughter!" I yelled back; the words flowing from my mouth like a waterfall.

"How _dare _you talk to me like that!" she screamed. "Just wait until I see you again. I'll show you just how much of a little worthless slut you are!"

I clenched the phone in my hands and started to breathe heavily. I needed to say something to her that would sting just as much as her words did to me. That's when I thought of dad; the love of her pathetic life. My lips curled into a devilish smirk and I cleared my throat once again.

"I think you'd be happy to know that I received a call from _daddy _today. Did you?" I asked, knowing that he probably didn't even attempt to reach her. There was a long pause over the phone until my mom finally let out a nasty cough.

"Daddy?" she asked hastily. "Bullshit. What makes you think I would believe that lie?"

"Oh, I can prove it. I'll come over right now and call him right in front of you." I taunted. She mumbled horrid things over the phone as I listened uneasily.

"Whatever." she muttered before slamming the phone down, disconnecting the call.

I stuffed my phone into my pocket and stared at the misty rain pouring down. I lifted the hood from my jacket over my head and stepped out into the rain, exiting the park.

I walked hurriedly on the sidewalk while making my way to my house. The rain slapped me in the face, fogging up my vision. I stopped halfway to the house and sat on the curb; the people driving past in their cars taking their time to look at me and shake their heads at how pathetic I looked.

I took a deep breath and wiped my drenched hair out of my face. I stood up and reluctantly continued to walk; my legs threatening to give out at any minute.

After several more minutes of dragging myself all around town, I noticed my gate coming up into view. I sighed of relief and pushed myself over to it, unlocking it and darting tiredly up my front steps.

I stared at the door and shook my head, panting. _You can do this _I thought to myself. I cleared my throat and knocked on the door, awaiting a drunken old hag to open it.

Soon enough, my mother in dark red hair curlers and a bottle of Moscato answered the door with that dilated look in her pupils. She looked like a character from a horror movie.

"Look who decided to bring her ass lollygagging back!" she sang in a torturous tone.

"You know why I'm here." I said while pushing her aside to step in. I hesitantly searched around the house and didn't see any sign of Tony.

"Where's the pedobear? Does he have a hot date with Winnie the Pooh?" I questioned, turning to look at my mom.

"Don't push it, cunt. Now dial his fucking number before this bottle goes up your head." she said sharply.

I clenched my jaw and pulled my phone out, pressing redial. It rang twice before someone answered.

"Hello?" he said frantically. "Hello, Imogen?"

I studied my mother's expression, and it was an expression that I hadn't seen in a while. It wasn't a look full of hatred or anger. She looked as if her face had aged about 10 years younger; as if she had just witnessed a miracle; as if she had a heart...

"David?" she whispered, her eyes sparkling.

I looked into my mothers eyes, and for the first time in years... I could see an ounce of happiness in that mixture of demons. I felt as if I wanted to hug her; to hold her and let her know how much I still loved her, and that's when the look disappeared. All I could see was the monster that she truly was.

"Hello?" he asked after a minute.

"Give me that damn phone." she snapped, snatching it from my hands.

"David? Is that you?" my mother asked into the phone, her voice low and raspy.

"Emily? Oh Emily... I've missed you so much." He whispered. Her lips started to quiver as she blinked her eyes rapidly.

"I don't know what to say." she said; her voice barely a whisper. She covered her mouth with her hand and started to shake her head.

I stood there, my legs trembling from the air in the house. As was my mom, I was speechless as well.

"I kinda, uh... talked to Imogen earlier. She wasn't too happy to hear from me." he said into the phone.

"No shit." I mumbled to myself.

My mother sniffed and licked her lips; her eyes still filled with surprise.

"Why? Why are you calling, David?" she questioned, looking at me.

"I'm going to be in town in a few days, and I really wanted to have the chance to sit down with you guys. I've missed you guys so much and I've been meaning to make this call for awhile now." he answered.

My mother didn't say anything; she just remained looking at me as her eyes reddened.

"Emily?" he asked after a minute.

"I'm here, David... I'm here." she said sadly.

"Have you guys been good, though?" he asked. I narrowed my eyes and scoffed.

"Good? GOOD? You can't be serious!" I muttered.

"_Don't _say a word!" she whispered sternly, her eyes shredding me to pieces.

"We've been alright. But, we missed you too David. And it would be... amazing if we could get together and talk again." she said, nodding her head. I looked at her as if she was crazy, cursing mentally.

"Oh god, you don't know how happy you just made me... I really appreciate this, after what I did. I'll see you girls soon." he said before hanging up.

Mom held onto the phone for seconds more, staring into space. I stormed over and snatched the phone, my anger boiling over.

"You're kidding, right? You're _honestly _going to just let him back in after he left us high and dry? You're going to pretend like we were "alright" when you know... you _know _that we were miserable!" I cried.

Mom grabbed my wrists and glared at me. I whimpered, trying to free myself from her grip.

"You are not going to ruin this for me! He wants me back, can't you see?" she screeched. I shook my head quickly.

"Mother, he doesn't _you! _He has a family; his OWN perfect family! What makes you think he's going to leave all of that for you? For us? This is just a guilt trip and you know it!" I screamed back.

She released my wrists and slapped me, the pain instantly burning the side of my face.

"We are going to see him whether you like it or not... and there's no way that you're going to mess this up." she said, spacing out each word to make it hurt more.

"Or what?" I sniffed, my voice shaky.

"I'm sure you'll figure that out." she whispered; those words engraving a scar into my already broken soul.

**Author's Note: David Moreno is back?- or is he? What do you guys think is going to happen? Leave a review! :D**

**Follow me on Twitter; I follow back: AshleyMocha12**


	16. Indenial

Author's note: =O … no reviews for Chapter 15? That made me sad. I would have loved to see your feedback/predictions; you know how I am about reviews. Well anyway, please review this time; I'd appreciate it. Enjoy Chapter 16.

Eli's P.O.V

-a week later-

Fiona wheeled her finished costumes into the prop closet as I watched from Mrs. Hyser's desk. The play was in no less than a week, and we were all pretty tense.

Mrs. Hyser was flipping through the finished script; her glasses touching the tip of her nose. She would occasionally mumble things here and there, and laugh at certain points.

Fiona strolled out of the prop closet and walked over to Mrs. Hyser's desk, staring down at me.

"Take a seat, Ms. Coyne."Mrs. Hyser said without even looking up from the script. Fiona grabbed a chair from the center of the classroom and pulled it over to the desk, sitting next to me.

After several minutes of watching Mrs. Hyser read the script, she closed it and looked up at the both of us, taking her glasses off.

She had a look of scorn in her eyes; her lips curled into a small frown. This made my heart skip a beat.

"I am so proud of the both of you." she finally said, her face softening instantly.

I sighed of relief; a huge grin on my face. I glanced over at Fiona, and noticed how thrilled she was; as was I.

"You guys pulled it off! None of this would have been possible without you guys." she stated,with a look of admiration.

"I must thank you, Mrs. Hyser for being patient with me." I added; my eyes focused on her."Anyone else would have given up on me, but you gave me a chance. Thank you."

Mrs. Hyser gazed at me and nodded, her glasses close to falling off the brim of her nose.

"With the production a few days away, I'm calling an emergency rehearsal for this afternoon. Think you two can get the word around?" she questioned. Fiona and I nodded and unison as the bell sounded above us.

"Off you go."Mrs. Hyser said, waving her hand as if to shoo us away.

Fiona and I walked out of the Drama Room and out into the hallway as students began to crowd the large area.

"I'm too excited, Eli!" Fiona said, grinning widely.

"I am too. I just hope nothing goes wrong." I said, walking toward my locker. She pinched my arm and frowned.

"Ow?" I said, rubbing my arm lightly.

"Don't jinx it, Elijah! We really _don't _need anything going wrong." she said, propping her shoulder bag on her arm uncomfortably. I smirked.

"You believe in that crap?" I asked, looking over at her. She narrowed her eyes and licked her lips before thinking of something clever to say back.

"And why wouldn't I? I've heard stories of theater gone wrong due to negative vibe!" Fiona responded as we stopped at my locker.

"I never said I had a bad vibe. I just said- nevermind." I said, opening my locker and pulling out my Math book. "Everything will go perfect."

Fiona looked up at me and sighed heavily. "Here you go again with the jinxing! If you say something is _planned _to go right, it will only go _wrong_!" Fiona squealed. I rolled my eyes.

"What do you want from me? I say I hope nothing goes wrong, you give me shit. I say I hope it goes right, you give me shit. What the hell do you want me say?" I asked, closing my locker. She gawked at me and cleared her throat.

"Well potty mouth, all I want is for you not to say anything and wait to see how everything turns out on theater night." Fiona said, folding her arms. I shook my head at her and chuckled, too happy to be angry.

"Whatever you say, Fi." I said, shaking my head. I looked ahead of me and noticed Bianca and Imogen walking. "I'll catch you later?"

Fiona looked ahead and also saw the two ladies prancing toward the lunchroom. She smiled and looked at me. "Yeah, go see your girl. I'll see you at rehearsal."

I nodded and walked away swiftly, making my way into the lunchroom.

Bianca and Imogen were standing in line for breakfast, so I began walking over to stand with them. As I skipped the back of the line, I heard KC calling over my shoulder.

"Yo, Eli! Get to the back of the line! You ain't Obama; you can't just skip everyone!" He shouted, causing people to stare at him. I turned around confusedly and looked at him with an annoyed expression.

"KC, I'd like to go wait in line with my girlfriend... if that's okay with you." I said quietly. KC looked as if he was about to come back with another exaggerated outburst, but Jenna gripped his hand, restraining him from embarrassment.

With that, I continued skipping the line until I stopped in front of Bianca and Imogen. Imogen smiled up at me and Bianca handed me a brownie.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" I asked, examining the smushed up brownie.

"It's a weed brownie." she said, her voice barely a whisper. "You _eat _it."

I looked from the brownie, to Bianca, then back to the brownie. "Well this was both random and unexpected. 'Oh, Hi Eli. Goodmorning to you too, would you like a weed brownie?' what the?" I joked, stuffing the brownie into my pocket. Bianca rolled her eyes and continued to move forward in line.

"Hey, don't blame me. I had a get together last night and let's just say I had unwanted leftovers. Imogen didn't want it, so I figured you would." she confessed, twirling a piece of her hair. I looked over at Imogen and immediately the rest of the world faded away, and she was all that I could see.

"Goodmorning, beautiful." I whispered, pecking her cheek. Her eyes found mine and she smiled back, her hand brushing against mine.

"Goodmorning." she said back. Our hands brushed again so I took the liberty of intertwining them together. Bianca looked down at our hands and scrunched her face.

"A little early to be barfing my breakfast of which I haven't even consumed yet, right?" she asked, a grin appearing on her face. Imogen laughed quietly and squeezed my hand.

"Don't be jealous." she said, resting her head on my shoulder. Bianca stuck her tongue out and picked up a tray, grabbing a banana and some cereal and placing the items on it.

As Imogen reached for a Tray, I stopped her hand and picked it up for her. She sighed appreciatively and grabbed it from me, placing a salad and some yogurt on hers.

"You're too much, babe." she said tiredly, her smile still lingering on her face. Her eyes looked puffy.

"Did you get some sleep last night?" I asked as we began walking to a table. She shook her hand slightly and sat down between Bianca and me.

"I got as much sleep as my mom allowed me." she whispered, shaking up her milk carton. I inched my lips close to her ear.

"I don't know why you chose to go back there. You know you're allowed to stay with me as long as you need to." I told her. She cleared her throat and sniffed, ignoring my comment.

"Owen!" Bianca shouted to Owen, whom was standing off in the corner of the cafeteria. He noticed her voice and looked over at her.

"I'll be back, guys." Bianca said before darting across the lunchroom. Imogen turned to me and nodded.

"I know I'm allowed to stay with you, but I... I feel like I should try and work things out with my mother." she said, her voice shaky and misleading. I narrowed my eyes.

"And Tony? What about him? What about-

"Tony is gone." she interrupted, her eyes not daring to look into mine. I sighed and grabbed her hand.

"I just don't understand why you're choosing that hellhole over my place." I responded, my voice showing a hint of sadness. She shook her head.

"Eli, this has nothing to do with you." she said sadly, gripping my hand tighter. "My dad is in town, and we're supposed to be seeing him today. Mom feels that he _wants _her back and... she told me that she needed me home just in case things we're supposed to be turning back to normal. I know it won't, but... Mom is being nicer and I just couldn't pass up a chance to spend time with her while she's like this."

I nodded, coming to the conclusion that she was going to do whatever she wanted, regardless of what I said.

As we sat at the table in complete silence, something came into mind.

"I totally remember that Fiona said the music festival was going to be postponed to tonight! It was supposed to be some weekends ago, but it was postponed because _Drake _or whatever his name is had the flu." I said, looking at Imogen. Imogen stared at me and sighed, shaking her head.

"I can't. I'm seeing my dad at 8:00. Have fun without me?" she said, smiling sadly. I nodded slowly and sighed.

"Tell your dad I said hi." I told her, trying to hide the frustration in my voice. "By the way, there's emergency rehearsal after school."

"I'll be there." she said, stuffing some salad into her mouth. The bell indicating that it was time for class went off, and kids immediately started filing out of the lunchroom. I grabbed Imogen's hand as we stood up, following everyone out.

"So what are you going to say to your dad?" I asked, my curiosity taking over. Imogen shrugged.

"What can I say? I can barely remember what he looks like... this is going to be the most awkward dinner of my life." she admitted, swinging our hands back and forth.

"I can skip the festival and accompany you, if you want?" I offered. She shook her head quickly.

"Nah, it's okay. This is a private matter... I'll be fine. I promise." she reassured. I nodded slowly as we stopped in front of her classroom.

"This is your stop." I told her. She sighed heavily and nodded.

"See you later." she chirped before walking into the room. I watched after her and eagerly tried to remind myself that she was strong enough to make it through whatever was going to happen tonight.

…

Imogen's P.O.V

I walked away from the school with my hands in my pockets. The frosty sky above me was already darkening. I took out my phone, checking the time and saw that it was a little after 5:00.

Rehearsal was pretty intense and everyone was completely focused on getting their parts mastered completely. I know I had Maria down; no doubt. The only thing I was worried about was the kiss with Liam. It felt awkward kissing anyone but Eli, but it was a play. I have to do what I have to do.

As I continued to trudge the mucky sidewalk, all I could think about was the dinner that was ahead of me. Mom was so excited, and her mood was actually one that I could stand. It all felt so surreal... I wanted to hold on to it for as long as I could.

As I approached the door, I took in a deep breath and opened it, closing it after me.

"Imogen!" My mother called from her room. I dropped my bag by the front door and walked into her room and watched as she stuck hair curlers into her hair. I walked behind her and smiled.

"You're already getting ready?" I asked, smiling gently. She nodded and continued to stick hair curlers in, handing me some.

"I need to look _perfect _for your father. When he sees me, he'll remember our love and leave that substitute family in America." she said frantically, hope written all over her face. As I stuck hair curlers into her brown hair, all I could do was frown sadly at my mothers words. She looked up at me.

"Wipe that foolish frown off of your face. You should be the happiest girl in the world right now!" she said, rubbing some blush on her freshly tanned cheeks.

"I am mom, but... nothing. I'm excited for tonight." I lied, trying to stay on my mothers good side. She nodded as I finished putting in the last curler.

"You'd better start getting ready too. And wear something nice. We're trying to make a good impression tonight." she said as if we were meeting the President or something.

"Yes ma'am." I said before scurrying out of the room. I walked into my room and opened my closet, examining my dresses.

I found a red one with a short v-neck in the back of the closet and pulled it out, smiling.

"This one is nice." I said to myself, laying it across the bed. I walked into the bathroom and started my shower, looking at myself in the mirror.

"Is this the start of something better?" I whispered, my mothers words giving me an ounce of something to look forward to. I sighed and walked away from the mirror, those words still lingering in my head.

…

Mom's car came to a stop in front of the dot, and my stomach immediately sank. I was so nervous that I knew I'd barely be able to stand up.

"We're here!" she chirped, a wide grin on her face. I smiled over at her; the smile on her face warming my heart.

"Mom... I've really missed you." I whispered, my eyes searching hers for a response. She smiled back at me and nodded before climbing out of the car.

We walked into the Dot and looked around. When we didn't see him, we found a table in the back and took a seat. My mothers foot began to tap and I looked down at it, smirking.

"Mom, just relax." I told her. She laughed quietly and stopped her foot from tapping.

We heard the door to The Dot ding, and our attention immediately averted to the door. There stood a tall man, hair grayed mixed in with brown, and the same tan loaf shoes from years before. There stood my father.

I looked over at my mother and noticed the twinkle in her eyes. She looked so happy that not even the slightest of conflict could ruin her mood.

"David." she whispered, a tear sliding down. His eyes found hers and a grin appeared on his face. He quickly made his way over to our table and stood in front of us, looking between the both of us.

"It's really you." he said, his wrinkled cheeks grinning widely. Mother and I stood up in unison, wrapping our arms around him. Seconds later, I pulled away but mom remained with her arms wrapped tightly around daddy.

His hands lay planted on her waist, neither of them daring to pull away. It was like they were making up for lost time.

After a few minutes, I grew impatient. They finally pulled away, staring at each other as if I weren't there.

"I've missed you _so _much, David." mom said, tears still sliding down her cheeks.  
>"I've missed you too." he whispered back, wiping her cheeks. He looked over at me and smiled. "I missed you too, sweetheart."<br>I nodded and sniffed, controlling my emotions. "How's America?" I asked, taking a seat. Mom and Dad both took their seats and Dad looked over at me. It felt weird having all of us at one table again; well, minus Joshua...

"It's nice. Definitely a different experience. I'd love to take you along for a trip very soon." he said, smiling. I rolled my eyes and looked away.

"So, what are you going to have to eat?" Mom asked, staring at him with a love stricken expression.

"What's good here?" he asked, smiling back at her.

"The nachos are alright." I muttered, looking back at him. He nodded and opened his menu.

"Oh, these cheeseburgers look pretty tasty." Mom said, examining her menu. All I wanted was for this dinner to be over. I didn't even realize how much anger I'd have seeing my fathers face, but by now I was ready to punch him unconscious.

As the dinner continued, they delivered the food and my parents continued to talk freely, not even acknowledging my presence.

"So David, when do you think you'll be coming home?" Mom asked as the waiter took up our empty plates.

"What?" dad asked, his smile fading.

"Home, you know... back to us." she said, her eyes gleaming with persistence. Dad sighed heavily and looked over at me with a guilt stricken expression.

"Uh, Emily... I think you're confus-

"I knew it." I interrupted, throwing my napkin to the table. "You're only here because you felt bad about missing out on thousands of years of our _pathetic _life! You didn't give a shit about catching up on anything; all you wanted was to brighten our moods for five seconds and then leave us for a Gazillion years like you did before!"

My parents stared back at me with shocked looks along with a few others.

"Imogen, you stop this right now!" Mother shouted, her eyes reddening with anger. I stood up, not being able to control my anger.

"I told you mom, he doesn't _want _you! You did allllll of this for nothing!" I screamed, turning to look at my father. "Tell her, dad! Tell her that you're not leaving your wife to come be with us. _**Tell her!**__"_

Mother turned to look at him, confused as ever. "Is this true?"

Dad cleared his throat uncomfortably and tried to reach for her hand.

"Emily, if I had any idea that you thought we were getting back together again..." he trailed off, clearly at loss for words. But mom caught on. The look on her face was unbearable. Tears fell from her eyes, but this time, they definitely weren't tears of happiness. I couldn't stand to be around them anymore so I barged out of The Dot, running for dear life.

As soon as my heels began to give out, I snatched them off and continued to run, my breathing growing heavier and heavier.

I ran and ran until I couldn't run anymore. My phone continued to sound off, _Dad_ appearing on the screen every time.

I walked the rest of the way to my house, slamming the door as I walked in. Tears stained my face as I ran to my room, locking my door. I needed to talk to someone, and not just anyone. Not Fiona, not Bianca, not even Eli...

I pulled my small address book out of my drawer and frantically searched until I found the name that I was looking for.

_Jose. _

**Author's Note: Hehe :3 Jose is back! I'll have the next chapter up soon, so leave reviews! This story is almost done :( so hopefully I'll have it finished by the end of this month if things work out as planned. Anyway, let me know what you thought of this chapter.**

**Follow me on Twitter; I follow back: AshleyMocha12 **


	17. Overpower

**Author's Note: I like Chicken Fajitas. Yumm. **

Imogen's POV

I waited outside of the small motel a few blocks from my house; a bag full of clothes in hand. It was freezing outside, but I didn't have enough money to go rent a room to stay in.

The sound of wheels screeching to a stop sounded from the entrance of the Motel, and I turned my head to see a blue SUV with none other than Jose Martinez sitting in the drivers seat.

I almost dropped my stuff as I ran over to the car, flinging the door open.

"Jose!" I chirped as he quickly slid out of the car. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he hugged me close. It's been ages since I seen Jose, and it just felt so good to be around him again. He was none other than an older brother figure to me, and I loved him very much.

After minutes of hugging, I pulled away and stared at him.

"Jose... I'm so glad you came all the way over here. It means a lot to me." I said softly, smiling sadly.

"You sounded so upset... You know I'd do anything for you, Imogen. I've missed you. You've grown up so much since the last time I seen you." he responded, grabbing his duffel bag from the passenger seat.

I gulped and sniffed, shivering from the cold. "I've missed you too. Let's hurry and get inside before I die of frostbite."

Jose laughed and locked his car, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. As we walked through the front doors, the luxurious warmth filled my body, thawing me quickly.

We noticed a man sleeping soundly behind the receptionist desk, so I quietly walked over and dinged the bell, awakening him instantly. He jumped up, his tired eyes staring Jose and I down.

"Oh my... I'm sorry. We uh, don't really get too many visitors here around the holidays. I guess I kind of dozed off..." he said; his voice sounding as if he was exhausted mixed with guilt.

I nodded and laughed gently, staring at the name plate on his desk. "It's alright, Mr. Isaacs."

"Call me Toby." He said, smiling back. Jose walked up next to me and pulled out his wallet.

"How much for a room? Two beds." Jose asked.

"Twenty dollars a night, but I'll give you guys half off." Toby said, reaching for a room key. I smiled as he handed it to me.

"Thanks, Toby. That's nice of you." I told the man. Jose thanked him and handed him the money.

"Can I help you guys with your bags or anything?" Toby asked.  
>"Nah, that's okay." Jose said, picking up our bags.<p>

"If you need anything, I'll be here. Just use the phone in your room and dial one." Toby said, taking a seat in his office chair.

"Thanks again." I said before walking away with Jose.

We walked into the hallway with several doors on both sides, and stopped when we saw room 6. Jose unlocked the door and pushed it open, looking around.

"I see why no one visits a lot." I mumbled, stepping in slowly. Jose chuckled and dropped our bags to the floor, collapsing on one of the beds.

"At least the bed is comfortable." he said, sighing satisfyingly. I kicked my shoes off and sat on the other bed, rubbing my arms.

"Is there heat in here?" I asked, my teeth chattering. Jose moved off of the bed and walked over to the heater, turning it on high.

"Thanks." I said quietly. He nodded and walked over, taking a seat next to me on the bed.

"So, when you called you said that you had a lot to tell me?" Jose asked, his eyebrows pinned together. I nodded slowly and looked away, embarrassed.

I didn't even know where to start. I told him about the child abuse, and then I told him about the rape. After I'd held in my tears, I told him about the visit with my dad, and surprisingly, I still managed to hold my tears in.

Staring at Jose's face after everything that I had just confessed to him was heartbreaking. He held my hand, continuously reminding me that he was always on my side, and would do whatever it took to make everything go away.

"I have a boyfriend now. His name is Eli, and he's one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He's truly helped me in _so_ many ways." I said, thinking of Eli. Just the thought of him brought a smile to my face.

"I'd like to meet this kid. Anyone who puts a smile on my little sisters face, is worth meeting." he said, smiling at me. I wrapped my arm around Jose's waist, hugging him.

"How long are you going to be in town?" I asked, resting my head on his shoulder.

"I'm not really sure. Didn't you say you had a play coming up?" He asked, looking down at me.

"Yeah, it's actually two days from now. I'm so nervous." I sighed, my eyes growing heavy.

"Then I guess I'm staying for a few days, because I can't miss the chance to see you on stage!" Jose said, teasing me playfully. I giggled and readjusted myself on the bed so that I was facing away from him.

"You know I can only stay here for tonight, though. I need to go make sure my mother is okay tomorrow morning after what happened tonight. You might want to rent a cheaper room after I leave." I told him, yawning slightly afterward.

"Yeah, that's probably best. Hopefully things won't change between you two. I'm glad you finally got to see the good side of her." he said quietly.

I looked over at the bedside clock and noticed that it was a little after 1 a.m.

"I'm so tired. I don't even feel like taking a shower." I said, my voice dragging. Jose chuckled and climbed out of my bed.

"I _need _a shower. Speeding in that car for the past 4 hours has worn me down. A nice, hot shower sounds like heaven right now." he murmured. I heard him unzip his duffel bag and pull out some clothes.

After I heard him close the door, followed by the shower being turned on, my eyelids began to close against my will.

Sleep slowly took over me, relaxing my bones for a short amount of time...

…

I was awoken by the sound of a door being opened. I jumped up, my hair sticking out in many different directions.

"Sorry. I was just about to go out for a smoke." Jose said; a cigarette and lighter in his hand. I groaned tiredly and slipped out of bed, heading for my bag.

"It's fine. I'll meet you out there after I get myself together." I said tiredly, yawning uncontrollably.

Jose nodded and slipped out of the room, closing the door silently. I grabbed my toothbrush and deodorant, heading for the bathroom.

After thoroughly scrubbing my teeth and making sure my hair lay flat, I slipped on my jacket and headed outside, walking over to Jose. He was leaning up against his car, puffing his cigarette. I snatched it from him a took a wig of the cigarette, blowing it out quickly.

"You smoke?" he asked, surprised.

"No." I said, shaking my head. "And you shouldn't either."

He took the cigarette away from me and continued to smoke it. We stayed silent for a few minutes before I broke the thick silence.

"What are you going to do while you're here?" I asked, leaning up against the car beside him. He shrugged.

"Probably stay in the room most of the time, smoke, go out... I don't know." He said, throwing the cigarette to the ground and smushing it with his foot.

"Well you have my number. Call me if you're bored out of your mind, and I promise I'll be here before you can say... before you can say something very short." I said, nothing coming to mind.

Jose laughed and nodded. I smiled and closed my eyes; the cold breeze tingling my skin.

"I should get ready to go." I said after a minute.

"I'll be here." Jose said, looking over at me. I gave him a quick hug before scurrying off into the room to retrieve my things.

As I put my hair up into a ponytail, the door opened. Jose stood in the doorway, a tired look in his eyes.

"I should drive you to your place. It's cold out, and this morning traffic is too dangerous to be walking in." Jose said, grabbing his keys.  
>"Thankyou." I said appreciatively. We walked into the lobby, heading outside. I heard some arguing coming from the back room, which looked as if it was Toby's office.<p>

"_No _Liberty, I'm at work!" He said, trying to keep his voice low. "How the heck am I supposed to leave my job to bring you your prescription ointment? _You _have a car in the driveway, you get it."

I snickered under my breath and looked at Jose, watching as he tried not to burst out in laughter. Toby noticed us in the lobby and walked out, his phone in hand. He placed his hand over the speaker.

"You guys leavin?" he asked. I shook my head.

"I am, he's not." I said. Toby nodded quickly and returned back to his place in the back room, arguing with what seemed like his wife.

We strolled out of the motel and headed for Jose's car. As soon as we stopped in front of it, I quickly opened the door to the passenger side and climbed in, turning the heater on high. Jose got in the drivers seat and put on his seat belt, as did I.

"So where is this _casa?_" Jose asked, pulling out of the motel parking lot.

"Keep going straight until you get on Woodpecker lane, then make a right and keep going until you see 2017 Bartley rd." I told him, pulling out my phone. It was 8:56 a.m.

Jose drove by the directions I gave him while I skimmed through my contact list. I stopped at Eli's name and started a new text message.

_To: Eli_

_sorry if this is waking you up but, I just wanted to say good morning. (: how did the festival go?_

I closed my phone and sighed, looking through the windshield. I noticed my house coming into view and grew nervous. As Jose pulled up to the closed gate, I heard him whistle approvingly.

"_Idios mio. _This is a big ass house." Jose said, turning off the car engine. I cleared my throat and looked over at him.

"I-I'm nervous, Jose." I admitted, clutching my bag. Jose grabbed my hand and smiled at me reassuringly.

"Everything will be fine. If you need me, call me. I'm just a few blocks away. Me and pal...Toby." Jose said, laughing afterward. I giggled slightly and opened my door, taking a deep breath.

"I'll see you later." I said before closing the door. Jose watched as I walked through the gate and up the stairs, making sure I got in safely.

I opened my front door slowly, the house completely dark. It was silent; so silent that I swear I could hear the clock ticking from upstairs.

I closed the door after me, being sure not to make too much noise. I snapped on the light and looked around at the mess in the house. Broken beer bottles, cigarette buds and alcohol stains. _Same old same old._

Seconds later I heard weeping coming from my mothers room. I put my bag on the floor and slowly walked back in the room, opening her cracked door.

She sat in a chair, an alcohol bottle in her hand and a picture frame in the other. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her dark black mascara ran down her face and she continued to sob helplessly.

"Mom?" I asked quietly, walking over to her. She jumped when she saw me, her eyes red as blood. It pained me to see my mother this way.

She quickly averted her attention back to the picture, her sobs filling the house. The closer I came, the more I noticed that it was a picture of Dad and Joshua the night of Josh's hockey game.

"My boys." Mom croaked, tracing the outline of the photo. I reluctantly wrapped an arm loosely around her, listening as she continued to cry. She leaned her head into my chest, crying harder.

I reached up, attempting to grab the picture and mom quickly pushed me away.

"_Don't you touch them! _You don't deserve to touch them; you don't deserve to see them! You're the reason they're gone! You're the reason my life isn't worth living! You're the reason why everything in our lives have gone wrong! It's your fault, Imogen!" she screamed, hugging the picture tight to her chest. I stared at my mother with shock, hurting from the words that had came out of her mouth.

"Mom... I'm sorry that you feel that way but-

"Don't say anything to me you spiteful piece of _shit!_ You're the devil's child." she screeched, her eyes burning holes into my skin. I gasped lightly, shaking my head.

"You sure as hell got that right." I said, tears swelling into my eyes. She flung the picture across the room, darting across the room at me. She wrapped her hands tightly around my neck, squeezing as hard as her weak body could. I tried my hardest to peel her fingers off, but she only climbed on top of me, pulling us down to the ground.

"I swear I will take the life from you just as easy as I gave it to ya. You shouldn't have been _born._ We were so happy; just the three of us. Then you came along like the little slut sent from hell and turned our family upside down." she said, her face turning red.

I could feel my lungs burning as I continued to try to fight my mother off of me, but she continued to squeeze harder.

My eyes rolled to the side, scanning for anything I could grab. I saw a red heel a few inches from my hand and I looked back up at my mother as she squeezed for dear life. I swiftly grabbed the heel, striking my mother in the head. She fell on her side, her hands freeing my throbbing neck. I gasped for air as I quickly stood up, dizziness everywhere.

My mother regained consciousness and stood up, coming at me again. Before she could make a move, I struck her twice again with the heel in the same spot on her head. She fell back to the floor, moaning painfully.

"I'm about to show you just how much I _hate _you!" I screamed, rage taking control over my whole body. I began kicking her in the stomach, watching as he choked on her spit. She closed her eyes, enduring the pain that she's given out for as long as I could remember.

I climbed on top of her, punching her in the face repeatedly. I couldn't control myself. As hard as I tried to stop, I just couldn't. My hands were flying with a mind of its own, striking her face into a bloody massacre in the process.

As soon as I had realized that she wasn't fighting back anymore, I pulled away, taking a minute to look at her.

_Did I kill her? _I thought to myself. I lay my head on her chest, looking for a heartbeat. When I felt one, I sighed of relief. She was still alive.

I stood up slowly; my mind finally processing what I had just done. I just beat the crap out of my own mother; the worst sin possible.

I sighed shakily and walked out of the room quickly. I closed her door, gulping nervously. I honestly had no idea what I had just done, but I needed to get out of that house. My phone buzzed in my pocket

I jumped from the sudden vibration and quickly pulled my phone out to see a text from Eli.

_To: Imogen_

_No, I'm actually in class. It's Thursday, we still have two more days until the weekend. :P but the festival was alright. Where are you?_

School. I had completely forgot about school, being that I was so wrapped up in my own personal, fucked up life. There was absolutely no way that I was going to school today, so I went to my room, throwing clothes out of my drawer and onto my bed. I grabbed suitcases from my closet and flung them in the suitcase, grabbing any and everything.

Today was moving day for Imogen Moreno.

…

I looked up at the ceiling of the motel as Jose went on about his girlfriend Selena. I turned on my side to face him as he lay on the other bed.

"Is she pretty?" I asked.

"Gorgeous." he replied.

"Prettier than me?" I asked, smirking. Jose laughed.

"No one's prettier than you, Moreno." Jose said, standing up and grabbing his phone. He walked over to the bed and showed me a picture of her.

"She is gorgeous." I said, smiling at him. "Nice job."

"So I talked to that Toby dude. He said he went to Degrassi. Isn't that the same school you go to?" Jose asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, what a coincidence." I said, sitting up. I looked at the clock and it read 10 p.m.

"So today was pretty boring. Yours?" Jose asked, flipping channels. I couldn't even begin to express the details of my day...

"It was fine, I guess. I packed my shit and left. I'm never going back there again." I said, staring at the several suitcases in the corner. Jose nodded and sighed, staying silent.

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked, standing up to stretch.

"Sure, what's up?" he asked.

"Could you drop me off at a friends house?" I asked, smiling hopefully.

Jose smirked. "Your little boyfriends house?"

I nodded and grabbed my jacket, smiling. Jose nodded and grabbed his keys, and helping to grab the many suitcases.

After we were all settled in the car, I gave Jose the directions to Eli's house and he arrived there rather quickly.

I told Jose to quietly help me set up the suitcases on the doorstep so that I could surprise Eli when I popped up at his door.

"Thanks for everything." I whispered, hugging Jose.

"Anytime." he replied, hugging me back. He pulled away and we said our goodbyes as he drove off. After a minute, I rung the doorbell.

Seconds later, I heard footsteps coming for the door. The door swung open; a shirtless Eli standing in the doorway. He narrowed his eyes when he saw all of the suitcases.

"Surpriseee!" I said quietly, an embarrassed smile on my face.

**Author's Note: LOL. Reviews? I think yes! Thanks for all of the people who continued to stick with this story; you don't know how much I appreciate it. (: **

**Follow me on Twitter; I follow back: AshleyMocha12**


	18. The Fullest Extent

**Author's Note: Thanks to the people who are reviewing, and once again who are continuing with this story. I apologize for usually taking so long to update, but that will change. :) I love all of you! Oh, and I see you guys enjoyed the Toby and Liberty ;) Enjoy Chapter 18!**

Eli's POV:

I narrowed my eyes as I watched the brunette standing outside of my door with several suitcases behind her.

"Am I...missing something?" I asked, scratching my head. Imogen sighed heavily and shifted her weight to her left leg.

"I came to surprise you, but that obviously didn't work out." she said, her voice trailing at the end. "I officially moved out of my mother's house today. I was hoping that your offer still stands for me to... stay with you?"

I nodded quickly, stepping outside into the cool air. "Let me get these bags inside." I said, grabbing two of the heavy suitcases. I almost fell backwards as I tried to walk inside.

"Let me help you with that." Imogen said, grabbing one of them with no problem. She giggled slightly.

"I, uh... guess I should work out more." I said, smirking. She laughed as we continued to drag the suitcases in the house. As soon as all of them were cleared from the porch, I sighed of relief.

"What do you own, Beyonce's closet?" I joked. I analyzed over Imogen's face as she stood awkwardly by the door. She looked upset; not at my joke, but in general.

I walked up to her and wrapped my arms securely around her, pulling her in close. She sighed into my neck and rested her hands on my back.

"You smell good." she whispered. I smiled to myself.

"Well as you can probably tell, I just got out of the shower." I said, hinting at my bare chest. She laughed, and much to my dismay, pulled away.

"Do you have any hot chocolate?" she asked, combing through her hair with her fingertips.

"Of course. I'll go make you some." I said, walking into the kitchen. She walked in after me, her sneakers scrubbing the floor.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" I asked, pulling out the hot chocolate packet.

"Not really." Imogen said quietly, her eyes lost deep in thought. I nodded, understanding her silence, as I ran some water into a coffee pot.

"Okay... how did you get here?" I asked reluctantly.

"Do you remember that guy Jose I was telling you about?" she asked, sitting down to the table. I put the pot on the stove and walked over, taking a seat next to her.

"Yeah, I remember. What about him?" I asked.

"He's here, in Toronto. He's staying at a motel close to my...mothers house. He dropped me off." she said softly.

"Will I get a chance to meet him?" I asked, smiling at her. She nodded happily.

"Yes! He wants to meet you too." she said excitedly.

"So you guys were talking about me. Good things, I hope." I smirked.

"Nothing but." she said, a grin on her pink, soft, delicious lips. She touched my hand; her small fingers tickling mine. There was something about when she touched me. It made me scream on the inside, which was something that _no _girl has ever done to Eli Goldsworthy. It really scared me, but it felt good all the same.

"You still there?" she asked after a minute.

"What? Oh, yeah. Sorry." I said, snapping back to reality. The pot sounded from the stove, filling the house with its screams. I walked over and moved the steaming pot onto one of the cooler stove eyes.

As I began mixing the hot chocolate with the water, Imogen texted furiously on her phone. She groaned seconds later.

"What's wrong?" I asked, returning with a hot chocolate mug and handing it to her.

"My dad won't leave me alone! He ruined his chance to come back into my life; I'm tired of him. He just won't take a hint!" she said, slamming her phone to the table. I sighed sadly.

"Immy, you can't spend the rest of your life hating your dad for the mistake that he made." I told her, grabbing her hand.  
>"But-<p>

"But nothing. Everyone has made mistakes in their lives, and I'm sure your father knows that he's made a big one...but you have to remember that he's still your dad, and you also have to remember _why _he made the decision that he did. He's begging for your forgiveness; can't you find some way in your heart to at least give him that?" I asked, my voice as low as a whisper.

Imogen's eyes watered as she quickly tried to blink them away.

"I want to, Eli. I really want to." she cried, closing her eyes. I leaned over and kissed her tears away, trailing my thumb over her left cheek.

"Please don't cry." I whispered, my lips finding their way down to hers. I took the liberty of smushing my lips against hers; my hand snaking behind her neck.

Our lips instantly moved in a rhythmic motion as the kissed intensified. My tongue grazed her lower lip, granting access into her warm, intoxicating mouth.

As our tongues danced around each other, Imogen slowly climbed onto my lap, straddling me. My hands gripped her waist as my lips separated from hers, brushing down her chin and making its way to her neck. I kissed it softly before giving it a nice, long, gentle suck.

"Mmmm... where's your parents?" Imogen asked, squeezing my shoulder in response. I continued to suck on her neck, ignoring her question.

I unexpectedly scooped her up and stood up, her legs wrapped tightly around my waist. She gasped lightly and stared at me, her brown eyes looking into mine with of look of undeniable want. It was driving me crazy.

I found her lips again as I slowly made my way across the living room and toward the staircase. As I took one step, I almost tripped, causing our lips to separate.

"Eli, be careful." Imogen breathed; her arms gripping my shoulders instinctively.

"I got you." I said, holding her closer and quickly making my way up the stairs.

As soon as we were by my door, I pushed her up against the wall, crushing my lips against hers once again. She laced her fingers through my hair, bringing our heads closer together.

My hands roamed her waist, squeezing and massaging here and there. The sounds that she was making were making my pants grow tighter than usual. I couldn't resist it anymore.

I blindly opened my door, backing Imogen into the room. She fell backwards on the bed, ours lips losing contact with a light smack.

As I lay between her smooth legs, all I could do was smile. Here I was, with the most beautiful girl on the planet, in between her gorgeous legs. I felt like the luckiest guy on earth.

Imogen grabbed my chin, bringing me back down to kiss her. She immediately forced her tongue in, causing me to groan in pleasure. My hands reached up and cupped her chest, giving them a gentle squeeze. Imogen moaned into the kiss; her back arching off of the bed. I pulled back, my instincts kicking in.

"What's wrong?" she gasped. I shook my head.

"Nothing, it's just... I don't want to rush anything that you might not want to do." I said, mentally slapping myself.

"Eli, please don't stop." she begged, touching my face lightly.

"Are you sure?" I whispered, wanting to know if this was _exactly _what she wanted. She leaned her head up and slowly tugged on my bottom lip with her teeth.

"How's that for _sure_?" she breathed seductively. I looked into her eyes, and I could feel that she really trusted me with her body.

I peeled her shirt off, tossing it to the side. I took a moment to gaze over her beautiful breasts before squeezing them once again. I dipped my head down to suck on her neck.

She moaned thankfully, nibbling gently on my ear. Unusual, but it was turning me on even more. As one hand still remained on her breast, the other traveled its way down to her throbbing center, giving it a gentle stroke.

She dug her nails into my back, breathing heavily as I continued to tease her. I could tell that I was in for a long, wild night...

…

Her small, fragile body lay in my arms as both of us breathed intensely. All I could think about were the events from hours before; us giving each other the full extent. I never pictured anything better than this very moment.

"Eli?" Imogen whispered, her arm wrapped tightly around my waist.

"Yeah?" I asked, my breathing returning to normal.

"I must say... as many times as I've done this before, it's never been with a guy that I... I..." she began, trailing off. My heart started to pound loudly as I over analyzed her words.

"That you what?" I whispered back, praying for her to say what I was hoping she was going to say. I heard her gulp before she sat up to look at me.

"Eli... I love you." she said quietly, looking away from me. I smirked, lightly grabbing her face to look back at me.

"I love you too. So much." I responded, my heart beating faster than ever. She smiled; her face glowing in the darkness.

She brought her lips back to mine as we spent the rest of that memorable night in each others arms.

…

The next day; Play Night.

Imogen's POV

Fiona finished pinning my dress from behind me as I stood completely still.  
>"Allllll finished. You look amazing," she smiled, her eyes looking over my long, silky hair. "Go see Chantay so she can do the finishing touches on your make-up."<p>

Fiona scurried off to attend to someone elses costume. I looked down at the white, polka dot dress and smiled. I walked over to Chantay and sat in her chair as she began applying blush to my cheeks.

"Hello, beautiful." Eli said, walking over and placing some red roses on the vanity in front of me. I grinned uncontrollably.

"Awww, Eli! You got me roses?" I asked, picking them up and smelling them.

"Of course! It's opening night. I can't wait to see you up there." Eli said, smirking down at me.

"And _I _can't wait to snag you for that interviewafter the play!" Chantay said, putting the make-up away.

"Hey Chantay, sorry that you weren't able to be in the play. Next time for sure." Eli said, smiling sadly.

"No biggy. I'm glad that I was able to still attend rehearsals and work behind the scenes. Clumsy me ruined my chance." she said, laughing shortly afterward.

I stood up and gave Eli a quick peck, receiving a smile from him.

"Alright everyone gather around!" Eli said as everyone circled around us. "We go on stage in less than a minute. Tonight is the night of all nights where we _have _to work to be the best! Is everyone with me?"

Everyone cheered and clapped, smiling happily.

"Hell yeah! Let's do this!" KC roared while wearing his 'Backstage Crew' T-shirt proudly.

"Yeah!" Eli clapped as the lights dimmed. That was my cue to go on stage. I took a deep breath and shook off my bad nerves, taking a step onto the beautifully decorated stage. The play we've all been waiting for, started now...

…

"_Maria Delgado... for as long as I've seen those beautiful brown eyes and felt your delicate touch, I've longed for the chance to say this." Michael said, kneeling down on one knee._

The audience gasped.

_Maria teared up, her eyes looking down at Michael questionably. "What are you doing?"_

_Michael grabbed Maria's hand; kissing it once lightly._

"_I give you my soul, Maria. I promise to forever treat you like the princess you truly are, and show you all of the love that you'd expect and more. Will you marry me?" Michael asked. _

The crowd was basically on the edge of their seats as Liam's hand remained in mine. I bit my lip to keep the tears in my eyes as I remembered my next line.

"_Michael, we're only kids. Are you sure that you're ready to take care of me for the rest of my life?" Maria asked, her eyes searching Michael's. _

"_Maria, I'm ready to fly to the moon and back for you. I love you, and there's no better way to show that to do this right here." Michael said, standing up and swinging her around, capturing her lips in his. _

The audience shared their amounts of "Awws" and "Ooohs" as Liam and I finished our exaggerated kiss.

_Maria released Michael from her hold and smiled through her tears. "Of course I'll marry you! Of course!"_

_She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him close, their rapid heart beats combining as one. _

As the lights dimmed low and the curtains closed, applause filled the auditorium as joy filled my heart. I quickly separated from Liam after congratulating his hard work and went to find Eli.

I collided with him as I turned the corner, smiling at his appearance.

"You were _amazing! _Absolutely mind blowing! Oh, and I have a surprise for you." Eli said, kissing me quickly. I smiled into the kiss and whined from the loss as our lips separated.

"Really? Where is it?" I asked, butterflies fluttering happily in my stomach. Eli grabbed my hand and walked us out on stage, along with the other actors and actresses as we took our bows.

"Look in the fourth row." Eli whispered into my ear. As confused as I was, I looked into the fourth row and gasped at what I saw.

It was Jose... and my father. It was _really _him. Here, to see me at my highschool play. I smiled, tears forming in my eyes. I was too happy for words.

"Eli, how did they know?" I asked. Eli pecked my cheek and smirked.  
>"Let's just say I stole your phone last night and made some calls." He said, his smirk never daring to leave his face. I shook my head playfully and turned to him, wrapping my arms around his neck.<p>

"You're the best, Elijah Goldsworthy." I said, closing my eyes. I could almost feel the grin on his face as I remained securely in his arms.

After a minute, I pulled away and sniffed. "I'd better go say hi. Thanks again, for doing that."

Eli nodded and kissed me once more before releasing my grip. "Anything to see that smile on your face."

I blushed and giggled, walking away and leaving Eli standing there with his angelic smirk. I truly had the best boyfriend ever.

I noticed Jose and dad walking out of there aisle, their eyes searching around the gigantic auditorium. I ran over to them as Jose spotted me first.

"Imogen! You did amazing, dude!" Jose said, wrapping his arms around my waist and picking me up, spinning me around. I laughed uncontrollably as he finally put me down.

"Thankyou, Jose. I can't believe you're here!" I squealed.

"Your boyfriend Eli pulled some strings. He said he wanted it to be a surprise." Jose said, his white teeth shining as he grinned.

"I'm surprised that you could keep it a secret!" I joked. I felt someone tap on my shoulder and I slowly turned around to see my dad.

"Imogen, you were great honey. I never knew you were _that_ talented... I missed you, honeybear. You don't know how happy I was to see you on that stage tonight." he said sadly, pulling me into a hug. As much as everything in me was telling me to fight it away, the only thing that truly mattered was the thing that was telling me to let the bad things go. My heart.

I hugged him back; my emotions spilling out onto his shirt. I've longed to feel my daddy's hugs for as long as I could remember, and to finally have it back was a blessing that I was abusing for far too long.

"Thankyou, daddy." I cried, holding onto him for dear life. Jose noticed our moment, and quietly walked off to, I would assume, socialize with Eli.

After a few minutes, we both pulled away and he wiped my tears away.

"What do you say I take you out for dinner? I have something I'd like to tell you." He said, smiling down at me. I nodded in agreement, my happiness level skyrocketing by the second.

…

We walked into Little Miss Steaks as Holly J escorted us to a table.

"How did the play go?" she asked with an excited grin. I held my flowers up, my face glowing proudly.

"It was amazing! I had a lot of fun." I responded, taking a seat.

"I knew you could do it. I wanted to take off, but my boss was being difficult." Holly J said sadly.

"It's okay, I just thank you for picking me." I told her sincerely. She smiled and walked off to attend to other customers.

"So, Imogen... have you spoken to your mother lately?" he asked, opening his menu. I cleared my throat and shook my head.

"Nope." I answered, my face turning red.

"Well, I wanted to run something by the both of you. Its important." He said, looking directly at me.

"Does it have to do with the both of us? Because if so, I don't want anything to do with it." I admitted, looking away.

"Actually, it's only about you." he said. I turned back to look at him and raised my eyebrow.

"What is it?" I asked curiously. He took a deep breath and smiled, clapping his hands to emphasize whatever he was going to say.

"I want to take you up to the USA to visit. That would be a nice experience, don't you think?" he asked, smiling from ear to ear.

My eyes widened. "Do I even have a passport?" I questioned. Dad pulled an envelope out of his pocket and reached over, handing to me.

I opened it quickly and pulled it out, seeing a passport that read "Imogen Moreno" with my school picture on it.

"How did you do this?" I asked, turning it over to analyze it.

"I have it in good with the agencies around here. It wasn't that hard." he admitted, chuckling. I sighed and put it in the envelope, closing it.

"Um... when are you trying to leave?" I asked, looking at him seriously.

"Tomorrow night." He exclaimed, making me choke on air.

"T-tomorrow?" I asked, my mouth parting instinctively.

**Author's Note: Hahahaha! :p so, I just want you dudes to know how AWKWARD it was for me to write that little scene in the beginning, but they finally had sex and told each other they loved each other :D let me know what you thought! :)**

**Follow me on Twitter; I follow back: AshleyMocha12**


	19. Sweet Sunshine

**Author's Note: Hehe, so today I read the 11.5 descriptions and saw the promo pictures and I have to say that I'm SUPER excited to see the Imogeli that they have in store for us ;) Enjoy Chapter 19! **

Imogen's POV

I walked into the Goldsworthy residence after a long dinner with my father. Eli and Fiona were sitting on the couch sipping some sparkling juice from wine glasses. I assumed that it was some remedy due to Fiona's recent drinking problem.

"Here's the leading lady!" Eli said, standing up and walking over to me. Fiona smiled and chugged down the rest of her juice.

"I was _astonished _tonight!" Fiona chirped. I smiled in response and grabbed Eli's hand.

"I have to talk to you." I whispered, staring up at him.

"Um... we'll be right back." Eli said, looking at Fiona. She nodded while gulping down the welches' bottle. We walked into the kitchen and I cleared my throat, turning to him.

"So, my dad told me something interesting tonight." I began, biting my lip.

"Really? And that would be..." Eli said, smirking.

"He wants to take me on a trip to explore the USA!" I said, forcing a huge smile. Eli's eyes widened as he continued to smirk.

"That sounds fun... when?" he asked.

"Tomorrow?" I said quietly. Eli's smirk faded, but he quickly smiled again, even though it didn't look the same.

"Really... so, you're leaving tomorrow? To where?... and how long?" He asked awkwardly. Boy, he asks a lot of questions.

"He lives in Lakeland, Florida. I'll be there for a few days; a week to the most." I told him. He nodded slowly. I touched his hand and smiled, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"_Come on._ I'll be able to meet my little brother and sister! I'll be able to explore Florida and... I'll be able to spend time with my daddy." I said softly, looking into his gentle, green eyes. He smiled down at me sincerely before giving me a quick kiss.

"I'm excited for you. Make sure you take lots of pictures." he told me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I nodded, giggling.

"So you'll take me to the airport tomorrow night?" I asked, snaking my arms around his neck.

"Sure thing. But before then..." he began, smirking seductively. I bit my lip.

"I'll go tell Fiona to go home." I breathed, backing up to go into the living room. He winked at me before I left, causing me to blush intensely.

…

Toronto Flyer's Airport; 7:55 p.m

Eli refused to let me go. His arms were still wrapped tightly around me as we stood in front of my departure gate. I kissed Eli's neck and smiled.

"I have to get on the plane, babe. We have to be on it and ready for take off by 8:00." I told him, pulling my head back. He frowned, pecking my cheek.

"Take me with you." he whined playfully. I giggled.

"I wish, but you don't have a passport." I said, running my fingertips down the side of his face.

"I'm going to miss you." he admitted, sighing afterward.

"It's only a few days. But, I'm going to miss you too." I said, smiling gently.

"Immy, we gotta go!" my dad called, waiting impatiently by the gate, looking at his watch. I looked back at him and sighed, turning back to Eli.

"That's my cue." I sighed, frowning a bit.

"Call me as soon as you land." he said, slowly releasing his grip on me.

"I will." I promised, grabbing his face and planting my lips firmly on his.

"Imogen!" my dad hollered, his voice anxious. I sighed into the kiss and reluctantly pulled away, staring at Eli sadly.

"Bye." I whispered.

"Bye." he responded, just as silent. I grabbed my carry-on bag from the ground and walked away, heading to the gate with dad. I looked back quickly and waved at Eli, receiving small wave from him. The gate then shut, separating my view from my boyfriend.

…

_She had her hands firmly around my neck, squeezing until her strength could give out. I tried to scream, but that only made it worse. I could feel the heat on my face as she continued to squeeze harder. _

_I felt my life being choked out of me by each second that went on. Things went black...black, until I was gone. Lifeless. Nothing..._

"Imogen, wake up." My dad said, shaking my shoulder. My eyes popped open, my hands slightly drenched.

"Dad?" I asked tiredly, stretching my arms out.

"We're here, sweetheart. We're in Florida." he said, smiling widely. I yawned dramatically and rubbed my eyes.

"We're in the U.S..." I said, relaxing my arms and looking out of the window. It was daytime, which made me anxious to get out there and explore around.

"You got that right! They're ready for us to exit the plane... what were you dreaming about?" he asked, removing his seat belt after the red light flashed for us to. I flinched.

"Uh... nothing. Why?" I asked, removing my seat belt.

"You were shaking and... talking. Well, mumbling things. I figured you were having a nightmare." he responded.

"I was talking?" I whispered, turning my head to look back out of the window. He cleared his throat.

"Yeah, but it's okay. It was just a silly nightmare, right?" he asked. I slowly turned my head back to him.

"Silly. Right." I answered, wanting to get off the subject.

"Attention Flyers, please grab your carry-ons and exit the plane as instructed by the flight attendants." a woman spoke over the intercom.

My father stood up and reached his arms up to grab the two carry-on bags that we brought along. I stood up and flexed my muscles in the tiny seating area, ready to exit that plane.

"Is your um...wife going to be here?" I asked, stepping out into the aisle way. Dad turned to me and handed me my bag, nodding.

"She will. And the children as well." He said, smiling wide. I cleared my throat and forced a smile as the line to the exit moved forward.

As soon as we were off of the plane, heading into the airport to retrieve our baggage, I had the urge to ask my father more before we actually reached his family.

"So... are the kids actually _yours _or...?" I asked, turning to him.

"Well, Evette has a son who is ten-years-old, and we both have a little two-year-old boy, and a new born baby girl." He answered, walking over to the baggage machine. I noticed my purple suitcase and ran over, snatching it off the spinning retriever.

"Oh, that's cool. Does the kid like you?" I asked, wheeling the bag over to him. He searched around for his bag, not even paying much attention to my continuous questions.

"Yeah, I guess? He's still getting used to my being there, but... we get along." he responded. His eyes lit up as he walked over, retrieving two of his heavy looking suitcases. I sighed and looked ahead of me at the unknown American faces. My dad walked over to me with his bags, a weird smile on his face.

"You okay?" I asked, looking up at him. He nodded, pointing his finger over by an airport restaurant.

"You see that woman with the baby in her arms?" he asked. I looked in the direction and noticed the woman, a short boy standing next to her, and a toddler in her arms. There was a stroller by her feet, with a small baby inside. She was about 5"5, and she was _really _pretty; to be honest.

I nodded and forced another smile, walking over to her. She had a huge grin on her face, placing the baby on the ground.

"David! You're finally home!" She said, running over and wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. As they reconnected, I turned to the boy and noticed the frown on his face.

I bent down and smirked lightly, catching his attention. "I'm Imogen, what's your name?"

"Kyle?" He answered, shrugging.

"Oh... nice name. How old are you?" I asked, trying to think of things to say. He gave me a frustrated sigh and rolled his eyes.

"I'm ten. Now what else are you going to ask?" he asked, looking at me with a look of scorn. This kid was tough.

"Uh... nothing. Are you okay? Wait, that was a question..." I said, biting my lip. He sighed heavily and walked off, pushing the stroller over to a bench.

I noticed the little toddler baby running in circles, so I picked him up and pecked his cheek. He was my brother, so I was allowed to do that I figured.

"Hey little one." I said, using my baby voice. The baby smiled at me as drool trailed down his chin. I giggled and felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around, coming in eye contact with Evette.

"Imogen, I've heard so much about you!" She said, her short auburn hair swaying at her shoulders. I smiled and put the baby down, allowing him to climb under his mothers legs.

"Mrs. Moreno, It's so nice to finally meet you." I greeted, reaching my hand out to shake hers. She shook her head playfully and pulled me into a hug.

"Call me Evette!" she said before pulling away. I nodded in agreement and looked over at my dad. He picked up his son and bounced him up and down, making kissy faces. He looked _really _happy, and I couldn't help but feel the same way.

"Well, are you guys ready to get home? I made some food; I bet you're hungry." Evette said, waving for Kyle to come over to us. I nodded quickly.

"Starving. The plane food was terrible." I told her, causing her to laugh.

"I bet. Well let's get going." she said, pushing the stroller ahead. We followed after her as we made our way outside into the warm, relaxing air.

"So this is what the American atmosphere feels like?" I said, taking in the scent. Dad chuckled down at me; his son propped on his shoulders.

"It's not much different from Canada." he replied. I shrugged as we came to a stop in front of a silver van.

"David, could you please put Lilly in her car seat? I'll put Colby in his." Evette said, picking the baby up from around his shoulders.

I opened the door to the car and sat inside, relaxing my head against the seat. After everyone was all settled inside, the car began to move; gliding through the busy streets.

I was picturing in my head what my fathers house was going to look like. Was it going to be some fancy, Floridian home with palm trees tracing the lawn? Was it going to have a huge pool in the backyard with a trampoline, or marble flooring with black leather couches? The possibilities were swarming.

As we pulled into a small neighborhood that read "Daughtery Wood", we turned a corner and came to a stop in front of a small, peach colored house.

It wasn't fancy and extraordinary like I was picturing, but it looked comfortable, and homely.

The grass was short, and lightly browning, and the windows showed hints of cracking, but it didn't take away from the

'Welcome Home' door mat, or the multi-colored flowers sitting beautifully in the front yard.

"We're home!" Evette shouted, climbing out of the car. I stepped out and walked to the trunk, pulling out my suitcase.

"Want help with that?" Kyle asked, walking in front of me. I smiled in response and nodded.

"Sure!" I replied. He sucked his teeth and chuckled.

"Too bad." he mumbled, walking inside. I sighed and followed him inside.

After Evette and dad had everyone in the house, Evette walked over to me.

"Hey, sweetie! You're going to room with Kyle while you're here; that okay?" she asked, her smile making me want to vomit. Was that okay? The kid hated me...

"Uh, sure. I guess." I responded. I already hated Florida...

Two days later

"Yes, Eli. It's nice down here, actually." I answered, laying across the bed. It was my second time calling Eli that day, and I missed him terribly.

"It's not the same without you." he said after a minute. I sighed, smirking.  
>"You're acting like I'm moving here or something. I'll be home before you know it." I responded.<p>

"I know, I know. I just miss you. I miss those lips the most, though." he said, causing me to blush.

Kyle walked through the door with tears stinging his eyes and plopped on the floor, sniffing continuously. My eyes widened as I clutched the phone in my hands.

"Eli, I'll call you back." I said, sitting up.

"Okay. I love you." he said. I smiled lightly.

"I love you too. Bye." I said, closing my phone. I got off the bed and walked over to Kyle, sitting down next to him.

"What do you want?" he questioned, wiping the discharge from his nose. I flinched lightly and licked my lips, placing my hand lightly on his shoulder.

"Kyle, what's wrong?" I asked softly. He remained silent. "Come on, talk to your big sis."

He turned to me, breathing sharply. "You are _not _my sister! And HE is _not_ my father! I don't care what any of you say!" he said angrily.

"Did something happen between you two?" I asked, my eyes searching his for some response. He nodded slowly after a minute, looking up at me.

"I was playing football when the ball hit the window. He yelled at me... I hate when he yells at me. He thinks he's my dad and he's _not!_" Kyle said, crying harder. I sighed heavily, trying to find the right words to say.

"Even though David isn't your biological father, that doesn't mean that he can't be a big part of your life. You have to give him a chance before you just toss him to the side. He's a good guy and he loves you; I know it." I said.

"He is a pretty cool guy... I just hate seeing everyone with their real daddies and they're all so happy, and I don't even know where mine is..." Kyle said after a minute.

"Kyle, I understand. Believe me, I do. I just... I don't want you to hate _me _over something I have no control of. As much as I wish my parents were still together, _our _parents love each other, and I'm just learning to accept it."

Kyle slowly turned to face me, his sad face softening a bit. "I just really miss my daddy. I'm sorry for putting the blame on you."

I nodded understandably, and wrapped my arm around his shoulder. "Me too, Kyle. And it's okay. As long as you'll let me be your _big sis_ now." I said, smirking.

He rested his head on my shoulder and allowed me to wrap my other arm around him. After a while of hugging my little step-brother, he pulled away and smiled up at me.

"You know, maybe you're not _that_ bad." he said, giving me a playful grin. I pinched his cheek and nodded.

"Ditto, kid." I laughed.

A few minutes later, the door to the room opened. It was Evette with two passes in her hands.  
>"Oh, Imogen! Guess what I have?" she squealed, waving the passes in my face.<p>

"Two pieces of paper?" I guessed, looking at Kyle. He shrugged.

"No, silly! Craig Manning is doing a concert at the House of Blues! David just surprised me with these!" she screamed, jumping up and down. I raised my eyebrows, standing up excitedly.

"Really? I _love _Craig Manning! He's one of the best Canadian-American singers out there! When is the concert?" I asked, grabbing one of the tickets. Evette laughed.

"It's tonight! Get ready, girl!" she said, grinning uncontrollably.  
>"Getting ready as we speak!" I responded, grabbing my suitcase and unzipping it quickly. Evette ran out of the room like an excited fifteen-year-old.<p>

"You chicks are so crazy." Kyle scoffed.

…

The crowd cheered as a man walked out on stage, swiping the microphone off of the stand.

"How's everyone doing in the House of Blues tonight?" The man asked, causing an uproar from the excited audience.  
>"That's what I <em>love <em>to hear! Now a little birdie told me that we have a man by the name of _Craig Manning _in the house tonight!" he screamed, making everyone; especially Evette and I, go crazy. "Put your hands up for Craig, Y'all!"

As soon as he said that, the attractive figure, none other than Mr. Manning himself, walked out on stage with his signature guitar.

He grabbed a stool chair from the stage and took a seat, adjusting the microphone on the stand.

"I'm glad to be here tonight with this great crowd of people! I see some beautiful faces out there!" he yelled, making me scream to no end.

He strummed a note on his guitar and adjusted the microphone again.

"This song right here goes out to anyone who has ever _Cried for Help_, and felt like there was no one there to listen. This is for the people who know what it's like to feel pain, but are here today to say they've gotten better. This is for you."

My insides turned as I listened to his intro. I don't know how, but for a second, it felt like the spotlight landed on me. As Craig began to strum his guitar, I clutched Evette's hand. She smiled over at me as I admired the beautiful Craig Manning.

"_They say they understand, but no one truly does. It's a feeling only you can feel; one you'd never wish on anyone; and that's real. Times are tough, things are rough, patience is key, but I can't take this; I wanna be free." _

The words flowed from his lips as they stung me painfully in the chest. I could truly feel the lyrics coming from this mans voice; each word he sung.

He continued to sing as the atmosphere became heavy with sadness. Everyone in that building had their own reasons for melancholy, but I knew mine. I placed my hand over my chest, frowning at the thoughts of my pain, but feeling proud that I was able to overcome the hardest of the obstacle.

Craig performed a few more songs before exiting backstage where fans with backstage passes were allowed to come back and meet him.

Evette and I stood in line as she bounced up and down in anticipation.

"I can't believe I'm going to meet _Craig Manning!_" she exclaimed. As the people ahead of us entered his dressing room, the realization that we were next made my heart beat rapidly.

"We're next!" I screeched. Evette linked arms with me as we waited. It felt like forever before the girls finally exited out of the room.

"Next!" the body guard called. Evette and I walked through the door and there sat Craig Manning on his white sofa, his feet propped on the coffee table.

"It's-it's-it's... _CRAIG MANNING!" _Evette screamed, running over to him. He smiled and stood up, giving her a hug. I was way too shock ridden to move.

"Can you sign this for me?" she asked, handing him a pad. He nodded appreciatively and got out a pen, signing a nice little note on her paper.

"Thankyou, so much!" she said. Craig looked over at me and smiled.

"Hello, gorgeous. What's your name?" he asked, smiling.  
>"Oh, uh, me? Oh, it's Imogen." I said, a stupid smile on my face. I was obviously still in shock. I pushed my feet over to Craig and gave him a hug; too excited for words.<p>

Evette's phone buzzed as she sighed irritatedly.

"It's David. It was nice meeting you, Craig!" she said, hugging him once again. "I'll be in the car, Imogen. Hurry up."

With that, she answered the phone and walked out, leaving me alone with Craig.

I looked up at him and squealed, receiving a smirk from him.

"Did you enjoy the concert?" he asked, taking a seat on the sofa. I sat next to him, keeping my distance. I nodded quickly.

"That first song you performed _really _touched me. I could feel your voice in my heart- In a good way, though. It's just... the words affected me deeply." I said, searching for the right words to say.

He smiled. "I know what you mean. To be honest, I wrote that song a long time ago. I struggled with child abuse as a kid, and it left some scars. I'm just proud to say that enduring that pain as a youngster made me the man I am today."

I gulped; his words processing in my mind. "You were abused? My god, I'm sorry... I know going through something like that is one of the hardest things you'll ever have to experience. Believe me, I know." I said, thinking of my mother.

He nodded sadly, looking down. "It was my father. He had a lot of issues, as did I. I was lucky enough to have another father figure in my life though. Joey. Good ol' Joey."

I smiled and looked over at him. Who would've known that I was more like this guy than I'd ever imagined.

"I think the best part about going through the unthinkable, is having the people in your life there to help; no matter what." I said, thinking of Eli. Craig smiled wide, opening his mouth to say something else.

"Times a'tickin!" The body guard called. Craig sighed and looked over at me.  
>"You seem like a really nice girl, Imogen. It was nice talking to you. Is there anything I can sign for you?" he asked. I dug in my pocket, pulling out a small piece of paper.<p>

He scribbled a few things on it and folded it up, handing it to me. I smiled widely and leaned over, giving him another hug.

"Thanks, Craig! Take care." I told him as the body guard escorted me out. After I was in the hallway, surrounded by the screaming fans, I unfolded the paper as it read:

Imogen, you're a very sweet young lady. I'd love to talk more! Hope to be in touch with you in the future ;)

-Craig

I folded the paper up and smiled, shaking my head. Tonight was truly one of the greatest experiences of my life.

**Author's Note: Ugh. I struggled with this chapter for some reason, so I hope it didn't come out too rushed /: Craig was in it! :D what did you guys think? :)**

**Follow me on Twitter; I follow back: AshleyMocha12**


	20. Dead & Gone

**Author's Note: Hiiiii [: so I'd just like to say that after this chapter, there will only be two more! Btw, this dumb shit deleted my first draft that I had written, so I had to rewrite it again -_- #fml. Anyway, enjoy and review! ;]**

Eli's POV 

I walked into school Thursday morning more tired than ever. I was up late last night looking on the internet for ways to get over writers block, but nothing helped. With Imogen being gone, I realized how _boring _my life really was; how pathetic.

As I turned the corner, I noticed Clare and Jake arguing by her locker.

"You think I didn't see you all over Marisol? I'm not stupid, Jake. You've played me once; you've played me twice; but you will _not _do it again." she snapped; her blue eyes burning with fiery rage.

"You know what, whatever. You're just a little drama queen anyway." he muttered before walking off, leaving her there to sulk. I sighed heavily and made sure he was out of sight before walking over to her. She noticed me coming up and she sniffed, hiding her face in her locker.

"Oh, hey Eli." she said shakily.

"Good morning, Clare." I said, watching as she wiped her eyes inside of her tiny locker. She pulled her face out and I could see the red puffs under her swollen eyes.

"Yeah, not really so good at the moment." she admitted. I sucked my teeth silently, ready to pound Jake's face in.

"We can talk about it if you want." I said calmly. She looked into my eyes and shook her head quickly.

"You won't want to hear it, trust me." she retorted, slamming her locker shut.

"Of course I do," I reassured. "I hate seeing you like this."

She took a deep breath and looked down at her feet.

"It's Jake... our arguments get worse and worse and I think I've lost him for good." she whispered, her eyes tearing up again.

"Jake's an idiot. Any guy that makes a beautiful girl like you cry isn't worthy of those tears. Maybe this can be a lesson learned? Ya know, letting you know to do better than jerks like him in the future." I told her; my honesty level on high.

"Eli, look at me! I'll never find that guy _worthy of my tears._ I-I just want someone to love me for _me, _and me only. I want to be enough..." she cried. Her feelings were truly hurt; along with her self esteem.

"I'm looking at you. Do you honestly want to know what I see? I see an intelligent, independent, beautiful young lady that doesn't need any of these jerks running around here to validate her; that's what I see." I responded, smirking lightly. She sniffed and looked down, playing with her fingers.

"You're such a good guy. I can't believe that you're still here for me after... everything." she said quietly.

"Clare, no matter what, you'll always have a place in this heart." I reassured, grabbing her shaking hand. She looked up at me through unshed tears and nodded appreciatively.

"Thank you, Eli." she said, giving me a hug. Seconds later, she pulled away with a light smile on her face. I grinned down at her.

"You don't know how much I honestly missed you. And for us to finally be able to be friends again means the world to me; you don't even know." Clare said, her eyes searching mine for a response.

"Ms. Edwards, I must say that we are on the same page. It's going to be nice hanging out with you again. That's all I ever wanted." I told her as we began to walk down the hall.

"I agree completely. It was so hard having to avoid you in the halls and at lunch... And the way I came on to you at the dot, I'm sorry about that. I was just on rebound from Jake and-  
>"It's fine." I interrupted. I wasn't exactly ready to hear that yet, but just the realization that Clare and I would be friends again made me happy. We stopped in front of her classroom and she turned to me.<br>"I need a lunch buddy today, would you like to fill in the spot?" she asked. I nodded, smirking.  
>"Why not? I'll meet you at the table outside," I agreed.<br>"It's a deal then." she laughed before walking into her classroom with the biggest smile on her face.  
>It made me warm to know that I could still make Clare Edwards smile, no matter what our relationship was.<br>I walked off toward my classroom, stopping to get a drink of water. Bianca walked past and noticed me, so she stopped and leaned up against the wall.  
>"Eli, is Imogen home yet?" she asked, her voice dragging tiredly. I leaned up and shook my head.<br>"Sadly, no. She'll be back soon though." I said reassuringly. She groaned as we entered the classroom.  
>"Now who am I going to cheat off of for the test?" she asked. I turned to her with my brow raised.<br>"Test?" I questioned. Bianca laughed and slapped my shoulder.  
>"Looks like I'm not the only one who's going to be failing." she said mockingly. We took our seats as I looked on the board. It read in huge letters: TEST TODAY! what a perfect way to start off my morning...<p>

…

I pulled up in front of my house after an exhausting day at school. Lunch with Clare went well, and gratefully, Adam tagged along. It felt like things were going great, and it honestly felt really good.  
>I walked into my house and the smell of spaghetti and meatballs caught my attention, making my mouth watery. <em>My favorite food<em>, I thought. I quickly scurried into the kitchen to see Cece stirring the noodles and sauce together.  
>I walked up behind her and pecked her cheek, taking in the scent of the delicious pasta. She smiled up at me and continued to stir the spaghetti.<p>

"Home early?" I asked, sitting my bag on one of the kitchen chairs.

"Yes sir. I took off early so that I could come home and make your favorite dinner. Bullfrog should be home before dark." she responded. She seemed excited, which made me hopeful for tonight. Our family would finally be eating together again, even if it was just for one night.

"That sounds great, mom. I'll be right back." I said before darting up the stairs and into my messy room. I walked swiftly to the bathroom and stopped at my bathroom sink. I opened the drug cabinet and searched for the pill bottle that contained my anxiety meds. As soon as I had found it, I pulled it out and examined it thoroughly.

There were about 20 capsules in the bottle. I poured all of them into my hand and dropped them, one by one, into the drain. I hadn't had an anxiety attack in almost three months, and I had a feeling that I wasn't going to need these anymore.

After they were all disposed of, I dropped the empty pill bottle in the wastebasket and I felt a hence of

accomplishment.

I looked at my hair and noticed how shaggy and out of place it was. The _least _I could do was look a bit presentable for dinner, so I grabbed a comb from the cabinet and ran it through my hair a few times. I figured that should be alright, so I smirked and walked out of the bathroom, switching off the light.

…

It was a little after 6:00 and the sky was getting darker by the second. I sat on the couch flipping channels as mom finished setting up the table.

"Mom, where is he?" I groaned, ready to devour the delicious food just a few feet away from me.

"He'll _be_ here honey. You do realize he has a radio show and it'll take a little extra time for him to get off. Don't worry; I'm sure he's on his way." she reassured, walking into the living room. I shrugged and stopped at the TV talk show, Maury.

"I ain't lyin', Maury! Zy'quan is the father of my baby!" a girl on the show screamed. The crowd roared as the supposed father walked out. I chuckled at the ridiculousness of this show. Minutes later, I heard a car rumbling outside of the house. That could only be one person.

I anxiously jumped from the couch, waiting for Bullfrog to walk into the house. Cece smiled up at me as she remained seated.

"Eli, you're acting like you haven't seen your father in a year." she laughed. I looked down at her and frowned.

"That's what it feels like. He comes home at 11pm, goes to sleep and wakes back up at 6am and he's out the door. I can't help it, but I am sort of excited." I admitted; a small smirk on my face.

The door opened, and none other than Bullfrog Goldsworthy came trailing in. I walked over to him and grinned, patting him on the shoulder.

"What's up, old man?" I asked. He laughed his throaty, signature laugh and closed the door.

"Eliiii. Is that a mustache I see?" He joked. I touched my upper lip and chuckled, feeling absolutely nothing there.

"It hasn't been _that _long, dad." I told him. He nodded and wrapped his arm around Cece as she made her way over to us.

"But it's been long enough. I think I'm going to start getting off earlier so that I can be able to see my family more often. I miss you guys." he said. Cece rested her head on his shoulder as I was at loss for words. I was happier than ever, and there was no hiding that.

"That sounds great, dad! Now... there's some spaghetti on the table calling my name and..." I started, walking over and sitting down. My parents laughed and slowly walked to the table. They took their seats and Cece put some spaghetti and bread rolls on each of our plates.

It took less than a second for me to stick my fork in there and start scooping the delicious noodles into my mouth. It was just _so good._ My mom was truly the best cook on the planet.

"Eli, slow down there boy. No one's going to steal your food." Bullfrog joked. I smiled; my mouth full with food. I gulped it down with some grape soda and turned to my dad.

"So dad, I wanted to tell you about Imogen. You know, the girl that stays with us now." I said. He nodded, remembering her.

"She's a perty little one. Good job, bud." he said. I nodded, agreeing with him completely.

"She's _beautiful. _She's honestly the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love her." I said. I couldn't seem to get that smile off of my face; not like I wanted to, anyway.

"I remember when your father and I fell in love," Cece said, staring over at Bullfrog. "We were in line at McDonald's when Bullfrog caused an uproar because they were taking too long to make his chicken nuggets."

"So it was love at first sight?" I asked excitedly. Cece shook her head quickly as Bullfrog continued to laugh silently.

"First, I told him off for the disturbance. And somewhere between the arguing back and forth, I gave him my number. He called me, and it began from there." she said, reaching across the table and grabbing his hand. I smirked lightly and relaxed back in my seat.

"_Only _my parents." I said, causing the whole table to chuckle.

…

I sat on my bed, logged on FaceRange from my laptop. It was 10pm, and I was pretty tired. I browsed the statuses as each of them either talked about their relationships, or how boring their day was. I saw a status from Imogen and smiled.

_Imogen Moreno: Today was super fun! Went to Clearwater beach and soaked up the sun. ;] my little step brother Kyle couldn't get enough of my famous head dunking! Lol text me. _

I liked her status and closed my laptop, sitting it on my nightstand. My phone began to buzz so I grabbed it, seeing that it was a call from Fiona.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Eli, are you busy?" Fiona asked quickly.

"No not really, why?" I asked, laying my head back on the pillow.

"I'm _really _sorry to bother you, but I have to submit a written essay for my modeling intern job that I'm trying out for, and I'm completely stuck." Fiona whined. She sounded anxious.

"Fi, how am I supposed to help you with a _modeling_ essay?" I questioned.

"You're the best writer I know! Please, please, pleaseeee? I'll uh, buy you anything you want just help me." she begged. I laughed and sat up, yawning.

"You don't have to buy me anything. I'm on my way. But if I'm late for school tomorrow due to sleeping in, it's your fault." I joked. She thanked me a million times before hanging up the phone.

I walked into the bathroom and changed out of my pajamas, throwing on some khaki shorts and a gray T-shirt. I lazily grabbed my keys and my jacket and walked downstairs.

Bullfrog and Cece were cuddled up on the couch and looked up when they heard me coming downstairs.

"Where are you going?" Cece asked. I put my hand on the doorknob and turned to them.

"I have to help Fiona out with something. I won't be long." I told them. As I opened the door, Bullfrog stopped me again.

"Eli, you have an hour." he warned. I looked over at him and nodded, making my way out of the house.

I walked to the car and unlocked it, climbing in. I started the car and turned the heater on hoping to get rid of the cold air in the car. I pulled out of my driveway and made my way down the road, turning the corner.

The ride was pretty smooth as I forced myself to stay awake. I noticed Imogen's road coming up and I looked over there instinctively, smiling at the thought of her. I noticed her house at the end of the road, but something was unusual about it.

I saw lights; red and blue. I saw huge trucks, but I couldn't exactly make out what it was. I drove up on her road and parked at her gate to see that there were two ambulance trucks parked outside of her house, along with a few police cars. What the hell was going on?

I hopped out of the car and opened the gate, making my way in quickly. I was stopped by a police officer walking over to escort me out.

"Son, you can't be here. This is the site of a murder investigation." he said; voices coming out of his walkie talkie. My stomach dropped as his words rang in my ear unpleasantly.

"M-murder? What are you talking about? What do you mean _murder_?" I asked; my mind going crazy. All I could think about was Imogen. Did she come home early and not tell me? Did her mother _finally _do what she was aiming to do for so long? So many scenarios were playing in my head that I fought eagerly to erase.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave." The officer said, grabbing me by my bicep.

"No, sir please. I'm a friend of this family. I really need to know what happened!" I said frantically. Seconds later, two men wheeled out a gurney with a body on it, covered with a black bag. I swallowed the huge lump in my throat, forcing myself to look away.

"We received a call of suspicious activity and loud noises a little while ago indicating that it was coming from this residence. When we came to check it out, a middle aged women was found dead in the master bedroom. We can't be too sure if someone had broken in or not, but we're contemplating suicide as a possible cause as well." the officer said with absolutely no emotion. I gulped continuously as I put the pieces together.

_Imogen's mother. **Dead.**_

"No, no it can't be... Dead? Are you completely positive? I mean, do you even know who the woman is?" I yelled. The officer looked impatient.

"Son, she was _found_ dead, and it looked like she had been for a while. We looked through some cards and identified her as an _Emily. _I am very sorry for the loss, but you must leave this property now while we are under investigation." the officer said, escorting me out of the gate. I drug myself lazily to the car as my mind continued to spin.

I could see my girlfriends face already. She'd be crushed to pieces; I knew it. I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed, but there was no coming back from that. My phone buzzed mockingly in my pocket, and I clumsily pulled it out. From all people, it was a text from Imogen.

_From: Imogen_

_Hey babe, just letting you know that I'm going to be coming home tomorrow. I'm catching an early flight so is it possible if you could come get me around 11? :) xoxo_

I gulped and closed my phone, leaning my head up against the window. I didn't know it was possible from being the happiest man on earth, to feeling like I was about to explode. Imogen would be coming home tomorrow only to find out that her mother was dead...

**Author's Note: ...hi? Kay, so, I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts on the end of that chapter. O_O I don't know why, but lately I've been struggling with my writing and... yeah. But Emily Moreno is dead. /: how unexpected! /: R.I.P. Only two more chapters after this one! **

**Follow me on Twitter; I follow back: AshleyMocha12 **


	21. Put To Rest

**Author's Note: I must say that I am surprised that you dudes weren't pissed that I killed off Emily. (Yay!) [; ONE MORE CHAPTER AFTER THIS! Then I have an announcement. Enjoy! (:**

Imogen's POV:

I stepped off of the crammed up plane with the biggest smile on my face. I absolutely loved my trip to Florida, and I honestly loved the family that I had there. I was way too excited to see my friends again, especially Eli. I also figured that I should find the time to check up on my mother. That was probably best, after what I had done to her...

As everyone walked out of the departure gate, we all ended up by baggage claim. I hurriedly grabbed my purple suitcase and lifted the handle, rolling it against the ground. I looked around at all of the faces, searching for Eli's.

I groaned and took out my phone, scrolling around for his contact card. The phone rang twice before someone answered.

"Hello?" the person asked. I smiled at the tone of his voice.

"Eli, where are you?" I asked, walking slowly through the gigantic airport.

"I know where _you _are." He said mockingly. I sighed heavily and stopped in my tracks.

"Don't play games with me, I want to see you!" I responded anxiously. He chuckled lightly before talking again.

"Turn around." he whispered. I narrowed my eyes and turned around slowly, coming in contact with those mesmerizing green eyes. I shrieked excitedly and flung my arms around his neck.

"Eli I freaking missed you, goof!" I said quickly, giggling like a two-year-old. He had his arms wrapped tightly around my waist, wanting to feel nothing but me. It took forever for us to pull away as we remained tangled in each others arms.

I pulled my head back and immediately crushed my lips against his, not caring who noticed.

After what felt like forever, our lips separated and I looked up at him through lidded eyes. "I missed that."

Eli smirked and pecked me once more. "And _I _missed _that_."

"I have so much to tell you about Florida! It was so relaxing, and the beaches were gorgeous! I have a little step-brother Kyle, he's a handful. I love him though." I said quickly as we began walking through the busy airport. Eli stayed silent as I continued to go on and on about my trip, and I was curious as to why he wouldn't say anything, let alone smile. I gripped his hand tightly and he looked down at me as if he was lost deep in thought.

"What?" he asked. I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Are you even listening to me?" I asked slowly. He nodded as we exited through the airport doors.

"Yeah, I am. I just have a lot on my mind." he admitted. I looked up at him and frowned.

"What's wrong, babe?" I asked worriedly. I was just arriving back... what could he possibly have on his mind other than getting me home so we could _physically _catch up? He sighed heavily and I could hear him swallow.

"I don't want to tell you right now." He said quietly. I narrowed my eyes and released my hand from his. Something was up with him, and I didn't have time for his stupid games.

"Elijah if something is going on just tell me? I mean, it's me for god sakes!" I said, a little louder than I intended. He turned to me quickly, his eyes full of noticeable hurt.

"Please, let it go. For now." he whispered. I looked into his eyes and nodded slowly, looking away from him. I wasn't in the mood to argue, I was just glad to be with my boyfriend again.

We stopped by his dads truck and Eli pulled out his keys, unlocking it. He grabbed my bag and put it in the trunk as I climbed in the passengers seat. He walked around and got in, starting the car. I looked up at the sky and noticed the beautiful gray clouds. What a perfect day for rain.

"I have my whole day planned out," I said, turning my head to face Eli. He continued driving down the road and smiled lightly.

"Oh really? What are you planning to do?" he asked.

"Well, we definitely need to catch up," I began, smirking at him. He laughed timidly and beckoned for me to go on. "I want to go say hi to Fiona and Bianca, and then... I want to go see my mother."

Eli swerved the car, causing me to grip the handle of the door. I shrieked lightly as we came to a stop on the side of the road. I looked over at Eli and stared at him shockingly.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You could have killed us!" I screamed, feeling my rapid heart beat. He remained silent, looking down at the steering wheel. I glared and hit his arm, demanding his attention. "Tell me what's going on_ right now_!"

Eli slowly turned at me; his lips quivering. "You won't be able to go see your mom." he said painfully. I scoffed and pulled a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"Um, I think I can! Just because you don't like her doesn't mean that you can keep me from seeing her. Something happened between us and I need to apologize." I said, looking away from him.

"Immy, that's not what I mean. You _need _to listen to me." He explained, his voice barely a whisper.

"Listen to you _why? _You're not making any sense and its starting to aggravate me!" I shouted, throwing my hands up for exaggeration. Eli's face turned a dark shade of red and it scared me a bit.

"You won't be able to see her because she's _dead_!" he screamed, silencing the car at once. A wave a fury washed over me as I raised my hand, colliding it with the side of his face.

"How dare you say something like that to me?" I screamed, my hands starting to shake. I couldn't believe my ears. I couldn't believe the mouth that those words were coming out of. I was in utter and complete shock.

Eli brought his hand up to his burning face and groaned at the pain. He turned his head back to me and frowned angrily.

"It's true! I wouldn't lie to you about something like this! She was found.. un-alive in her room." he responded regretfully. My stomach immediately fell to the ground as I processed his words. Tears stung my eyes as I realized the situation in front of me. I killed my mother that day, and I'd have to carry that burden with me for the rest of my life.

"No!" I wailed, crouching over and burying my head in my hands, drowning in my limitless tears. I felt his hand on my back, rubbing around in circles. He mumbles calming words, but ignored every last bit of it. _Nothing, _absolutely _nothing _could calm the emotions going through me at that moment. Nothing at all.

"Just, don't touch me, please!" I begged, swinging the door open and throwing myself out. I picked myself up off of the ground and began to run through the murky woods. I didn't dare to look back as I heard frantic footsteps behind me.

I heard my name being called numerous times, but I didn't care. My cries drowned out the noise around me, and all I could picture was my mothers tormented face from my continues punches.

How could I have _done _that? How could anyone with a heart beat their mother with a shoe and use their fists against her? How could I have left her there to die while I was out living my life with no reflection of the woman that nursed me? I was heartless; I was an undeniable monster.

I felt strong arms tighten around me as I stumbled to the ground of the dirt filled forest. I choked on my sobs as I clenched my fingernails through the leaves and sticks underneath me.

"Imogen it's okay. It's okay, I got you." Eli repeated as he cradled me in his arms. All the fight within me was gone, and I just held on to him tighter. I buried my head deep into his chest and kept my arms wrapped firmly around him.

"I'm a murderer." I whispered, crying harder. Eli shook his head and kissed my forehead.

"It was an accident. The officers said there was a call of a disturbance; you couldn't have possibly had _anything_ to do with it." he reassured. I pulled my head back and looked into his eyes grievously.

"The night I came to your house, I didn't tell you this but..." I gulped and looked down, crying harder. "I got into a fight with her. I hit her in the head with a shoe, and I flat out attacked her! I left her there to die!"

Eli drew his head back in disbelief. I couldn't blame him, I couldn't even believe my own words. We sat there staring at each other for the longest, no words coming to mind that could possibly justify what had just happened.

…

I paced the living room as Eli and I waited by the phone. The morgue was going to call us at any minute to tell us to come down there and retrieve my mothers autopsy, and I knew I'd be in for hell as soon as we got there.

"It just doesn't make sense," Eli began, walking up to me and placing his hands lightly on my waist. I looked up at him and sighed heavily. "You were gone for a week, and when you arrived at my house that at least has to give you an extra 24 hours... Wouldn't her body have rotted by then or something?"

I shrugged my limp shoulders and lay my head against his warm chest. "The point of the matter is, I killed my mother. God, I hate myself so much." I whispered, sniffing continuously.

Eli rubbed my back, eagerly trying to find a way to calm me down. The phone rang, almost causing me to jump out of my skin. Eli ran over to the phone and picked it up, pressing it to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked, his voice slightly shaky. I sucked in my shallow breaths, waiting to hear from Eli. "We'll be right down."

He hung up the phone and turned to me. I walked over to him and grabbed his hand, looking up at him.

"What did they say?" I whispered.

"They said that the autopsy was ready and that we could come down there to retrieve it as soon as possible." he told me.

"I'm not ready." I said frantically. Eli cupped my face and pecked my lips lightly.

"It's now or never." he said quietly. I nodded slowly and walked toward the door, looking back at him.

"Just promise me I won't be in this alone?" I asked, fearful of the events ahead of me. He walked up next to me and linked our pinkies together.

"I promise."

…

We walked into the immensely creepy floor of the hospital where the morgue was located. We followed after a doctor who was taking us back into his office to deliver the autopsy.

We passed by shelves of what I assumed were bodies, and I shuddered, holding on to Eli's hand tighter.

"I'm scared, Eli." I whispered, shivering. He held onto me, blocking my view from the rest of the shelves. As we walked into the doctors office, he closed his door and guided us to the two chairs. The office lights were dimmed low; extra creepy.

"Sir, if you don't mind my asking, how in the _hell _can you tolerate being surrounded by all of these dead bodies in this dark room everyday?" I asked. The doctor gave me a confused look and took a seat, going through his files.

"It's my job, so... I had to get used to it." he answered. I nodded slowly and leaned into Eli. The doctor found the file he was looking for and opened it, pulling out a piece of paper.

"Emily Moreno, aged 39 and the mother of two children; one deceased and the other I would assume to be you?" he asked, looking over at me. I nodded and held in my tears. "In her autopsy, we found a strong dosage of ibuprofen ingested in her system, along with multiple other prescription drugs."

My eyes immediately widened as I clutched Eli's hand tighter. I looked over at him and noticed that he had the same expression on his pale face.

"So you're saying," I began, my eyes tearing instinctively "That she wasn't m-murdered?" I asked, sniffing. The doctor shook his head, flipping through some more papers.

"She was badly beaten up when she arrived, but the cause of _death, _was drug overdose. From the looks of it, it was definitely suicide." he answered. I cried out sharply, squeezing my eyes shut.

_I hadn't killed her, _I thought to myself. But then, the thought of my mother taking her own life was just as bad. Eli wrapped his arm securely around me, massaging my wrist as I continued to wail helplessly.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am." the doctor added. Truthfully, he wasn't sorry. He's seen these reactions more times than he could probably count, and he'd continue to repeat those same four words to the people who'd be scarred for life. He'd never have to endure the pain that these innocent people in front of him suffer through on a daily basis. Like he said, it was his job, and he was used to it.

"Thank you for seeing us." Eli whispered, scooping me up into his arms and carrying me out of the office. He kissed my forehead and cradled my head under his neck, whispering soothing things to me.

"I love you." I whispered through my sobs.

"I love you too, Imogen. I love you too."

A few days later...

Dressed in all black; my head hung low. I was in the backseat of my fathers car, my younger step-brother Kyle sitting next to me dressed in his black suit. After hearing the news of my mothers passing, my father, Evette and Kyle flew to Canada to attend the funeral, leaving the babies with a friend.

I didn't dare say anything as we pulled up to the small church. Eli said he'd meet me up there, but he had a few things to do first. I knew there wouldn't be too many people up there, because let's face it; everyone hated my mother. I couldn't blame them either...

I climbed out of the car and tugged at my dress, pulling it down. Kyle followed me out and grabbed my hand.  
>"I'm really sorry about your mom." he told me, frowning. I smiled sadly and nodded, walking over to my dad. His eyes were red from crying, and it broke my heart.<p>

The four of us walked into the church, and I was astonished at what I saw. Not only was Eli standing there in his nicest black suit, but he was surrounded by numerous Degrassi students as well. I noticed Bianca, Fiona and Adam, and also Clare, Drew and Alli. I also recognized faces of kids who I've never really talked to, such as Wesley, Connor and Dave. I even saw KC, Chantay and Riley there to support me.

Eli walked up to me and cupped my faces, kissing away my fresh tears. "Did you do this?" I whispered, at loss for words.

"I contacted everyone I know. Not only is it fair to you to be surrounded by people close to you, but its fair to your mother to know that she had people here to support her on this sorrowful day." he whispered, causing me to cry harder. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he pulled me in close.

"Eli, I love you so much." I cried. He kissed my shoulder and made me feel content in his arms, like no other guy has _ever _done.

We took our seats in the pews as the pastor adjusted himself at the top of the three stairs. Eli was sitting next to me as my father sat on the other side of me, crying to Evette.

It was arranged for my mother to have an open casket, and I didn't even build up the courage to look yet. I just couldn't.

The Pastor preached words of kindness which made my stomach turn.

"This lady with a heart so full of love and courage will look down on all of us and smile-

"Bull shit." I spat, causing the entire church to avert their eyes toward me. I swallowed the lump in my throat as my father glared at me.

"Excuse me?" the pastor asked confusedly. I slowly stood up and made my way up to the podium, beckoning for the pastor to let me take over. He moved to the side as I cleared my throat, opening my mouth to speak.

"The woman with the kind heart full of love?" I began, all eyes on me. "No. Not at all. Do you want to know the _real _Emily Moreno? She was a bitch. A hasty, selfish, belligerent bitch."

The entire church gasped, along with my father whose face showed a hint of utter disgust. The pastor moved me to the side, groaning. I shooed him away quickly, clutching the side of the podium.

"Let me finish!" I told him, frowning sadly. I turned back to everyone and sighed. "I _loved_ my mother with every ounce in me, but there were things that happened that I cannot explain..." I said, looking at Eli. He stared back at me with sincere eyes and I quickly shook away the tears. "I'd like to say that I had great memories with her, but that would be a lie. Honestly, I can't remember anything but the worst. What I can say is that I always had faith in my mother to be a better person, and wherever she may end up... I just want her to know that I forgive her, and that... that I love her so much. I always will."

Tears managed to trickle their way down my cheeks as I finished off my speech, along with others in that tiny church full of thick sorrow.

I walked away from the podium and caught a glimpse of my mothers corpse laying peacefully in the brown wooden casket. I blew her a kiss and walked down the aisle, making my way out of the church. I needed some fresh air after everything that happened, and I didn't have the courage to attend the rest of the funeral.

I walked behind the church, looking at the swing set sitting stiffly in the yard. I walked over and sat on one of the rusty swings, swinging back and forth. The only thing that truly mattered to me was that my mother, dead or alive, _knew_ that I loved her. I just wanted her to know that I forgave her for everything; the beatings, belittlement and misery. I forgave it all, and I was sorry for the way things had to end.

Eli appeared from behind the church, making his way toward me. I smiled at him as he took a seat in the swing next to mine.

"That was one speech." he said quietly. I nodded and sighed, sniffing away my emotions.

"They needed to hear it, and I needed to say it. That was the only way that I could get the closure with my mother that I truly needed." I responded, reaching my hand out to Eli. He grabbed it gratefully and kissed it numerously.

"I have to talk to you." I whispered, looking over at him. He stared at me and nodded, waiting for me to continue. "I had the chance to have a long talk with my father about everything, and we came to a conclusion about what I was going to do with my life..." I said, swallowing repeatedly.

"Do with your life?" Eli whispered, clearly confused. I nodded and sat up from my swing, plopping down gently on Eli's lap.

"I think it'd be best if I went to live with my father in the US. I thought about it, and I thought about it some more... the only thing keeping me away from leaving is you. I don't want to leave you." I said, trailing my fingertips down the side of his face. He looked hurt, like I had just slapped him in the face again. It was brutally killing me.

"You're leaving? I don't want you to go, I'm not going to lie. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone, and I can see a big future with you... but I can't be selfish. I just can't." He croaked, resting his head on my shoulder. He pulled me in closer, as if that was possible. I stroked his hair, planting kisses here and there.

"You have no idea how much I love _you, _but things are rough right now and I _need _to be with my father." I admitted, pulling his head back and looking deep into his eyes. They watered, mentally sticking a dagger through my already broken heart.

Seconds later, the backyard of the church filled up with people crowding around the swing set. My dad pushed through the crowd, making his way over to me. He stared down at me through unshed tears.

"Baby girl, are you alright?" he asked. I stood up and wrapped my arms around his waist, crying into his chest. I couldn't help it; they just poured out. Eli joined in on the hug, causing more and more people to add on.

Despite the events of my day, with all those arms tangled securely around me, I couldn't have felt more loved.

**Author's Note: Awh /: Hopefully this chapter didn't come out terrible like it looks to me. . What did you guys think of her little speech? O_O and she's leaving... /': it's for the best though, right? **

**Follow me on Twitter; I follow back: AshleyMocha12**


	22. Farewell

**Author's Note: 'Ze last chapter of Cry For Help is below! :'( Sad to see this journey end, but glad to say it was fun along the way! My favorite character was KC! :D I have a longgggg author's note at the end, so MAKE SURE YOU READ! ;) Enjoy the last chapter, everyone! **

Chapter 22  
>Eli's POV:<br>The light shown from the window, indicating that it somewhere around 9 am. Imogen and I were supposed to attend school today, but I figured that she'd want to spend her last day at home with me, away from anything too stressful such as school. She stirred in her sleep, laying next to me in the king sized bed. I wrapped my arm around her waist and kissed her naked shoulder, resting my head there.  
>"Eli?" she asked after a minute. I raised my head as she turned so that she was lying on her back. I brushed my lips against the soft flesh of her neck, planting kisses around her throat.<br>"Good morning, beautiful." I whispered. She smiled and sat up weakly, staring into my eyes.  
>"Good morning, Eli." she said back. She looked around the room and sighed tiredly.<br>"You okay?" I asked, caressing her palms. She nodded, refusing to make eye contact with me.  
>"It's my last day here." she said after a minute, her voice slightly shaky. I was eagerly trying to forget that.<br>"That just means that we have to make the most of it." I said back, watching as she chewed on her lip sadly.  
>"I want to go to school. I want to see Fiona and Bianca, and KC too." she said, giggling at the last part.<br>"Really?" I questioned. She nodded quickly and looked at me.  
>"But first," she began, snaking her feeble arms around my neck. "There was something that we've been meaning to do."<br>She had that seductive grin on her face, causing me to chuckle lightly. I gently pressed my lips against hers as she tangled her fingers through my hair. I pushed her back down on the bed, towering over her long enough for her to peel my shirt off.  
>"You're not wasting any time, are you?" I laughed, averting my attention to her mouth watering neck.<br>"Just making up for lost time." she breathed as I kissed her neck tenderly. She gripped a handful of the blanket, causing me to smirk against her neck.  
>No doubt about it, I was about to make her last morning in this bed a memorable one.<p>

…

We walked through the front doors of the school hand in hand. Class was already in session, so the halls were alarmingly empty. I checked my watch and noticed that it was about five minutes until lunch time.

"Lunch is going to start in a minute, want to walk around for a bit?" I asked, looking over at her.

"Sounds good." she said quietly. We walked past the drama room and she stopped the both of us in our tracks.

"Eli, I want to go say goodbye to Mrs. Hyser. I've grown to really like her." Imogen said, staring up at me. I nodded in agreement as she opened the door to the room. All eyes averted to us as we came in, disrupting her lesson on stage craft and production.

"Can I help the two of you?" Mrs. Hyser asked sternly.

Imogen slowly walked in as I waited by the door. She walked up to Mrs. Hyser and smiled shyly.

"I just came to say goodbye. I'm going to be leaving off to the USA tomorrow morning and I just wanted you to know how great of a teacher you were to me." Imogen said sadly. Mrs. Hyser's face dropped as she stood there in awe.

"You're leaving to the US? As in, moving?" Mrs. Hyser questioned. Imogen nodded sadly, a forced smile on her face. Mrs. Hyser pulled her into a loose hug, rubbing her back softly.

"Oh dear I must say, I'm going to miss you terribly!" Mrs. Hyser said, pulling away after a minute. "Don't forget about me when you make it big in the acting industry."

Imogen smiled through her sadness and gave Mrs. Hyser her word. She waved at the ninth grade students in the drama room as they waved back at her.

"Ready to go?" I asked when Imogen arrived back to me.

"Yeah, I'm actually pretty hungry. After, you know..." she trailed off, laughing. I chuckled and grabbed her hand, exiting the drama room.

The bell sounded above us, kids scattering out of their classrooms. We noticed KC and Jenna walking toward the lunch room, and I could feel Imogen's mood brightening.

"Let's go over there to KC. I'm going to miss that goofball so much." Imogen said, sighing afterward. I smiled down at her as we made our way over to the two blondes.

"KC!" Imogen shouted, catching his attention. He grinned widely as we stopped in front of him.

"Imogen! I'm glad you're here, I have something for you!" KC shouted, digging in his backpack. Imogen's face lit up, causing me to smirk. Jenna stood there awkwardly by KC as he continued to fumble around in his junky backpack.

"Where the fuck is it?" KC screamed, pouring all of the contents of his bag to the ground. My eyes widened at the display.

"KC, it's not that serious!" Jenna snapped, looking around at all of the laughing by standers.

"There it is!" he said, picking up a small cheeseburger shaped trinket. He handed it to Imogen with a huge smile on his face. "Me and my mom went to the store and got it for you. It sings!"

Imogen forced an excited smile and pulled the string on the back of the toy as it played a small tune.

"_Burger pals everywhereee, beefy and cheesy and-and-and-and-and-and-_

The toy continued to glitch as KC's face grew red. He snatched the toy from Imogen and threw it in the nearby trashcan.

"IT'S DEFECTIVE! THOSE CHEAP GAS STATIONS!" he wailed, causing more eyes to wander over to him. Imogen giggled playfully and wrapped her arms around KC. He returned the hug, pouting lightly.

"I'm going to miss you so much, KC." Imogen murmured, pulling away. He grinned and pinched her cheek, causing her to hiss.

"I'm going to miss you too! Text me, my mom just got me a virgin mobile 'pay as you go' phone!" KC said excitedly. I chuckled to myself as KC and Imogen exchanged numbers.

Imogen and Jenna exchanged cheerful expressions before her and her boyfriend scattered off into the lunch room, leaving Imogen and I out to wander the halls.

"Are we going in?" I asked, taking Imogen's hand. She nodded, opening the door for me. I smirked and walked in, looking around.  
>"Help me find Bee and Fiona?" Imogen asked, her eyes scanning the busy lunch room. Fiona caught my attention as she took a seat at a table nearby the stage.<br>"There's Fi over there." I told Imogen, guiding her over to the stage. Imogen pushed her feet faster, causing me to almost trip over my converse. We stopped in front of Fiona, causing her to look up at us. She squealed and stood up, hugging Imogen immediately. They both continued to squeal and babble about girlish topics as I stood off, nodding my head to some rock song coming from a nearby students phone.

"I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow! We didn't even get to go to shopping week!" Fiona whined. Imogen frowned and hugged Fiona again.

"Promise me you'll come to the airport with Eli and me?" Imogen asked anxiously.  
>"Of course! Wouldn't miss it!" Fiona said, pulling away. I tapped on Imogen's shoulder and pointed my finger to the lunch line where Bianca stood.<p>

"You know Bianca, right?" Imogen asked, grabbing Fiona's hand and pulling her toward the lunch line.

"Oh, I know her..." Fiona said, cringing. I laughed as we came to a stop in front of Bianca.

"Bee!" Imogen said, snapping Bianca out of her thoughts. Bianca gasped and smiled widely.

"I didn't think you were coming! I was so bummed, dude. I don't want you to leave." Bianca complained as the line pushed forward. Truthfully, no one wanted Imogen to leave. That's what made it all the more worse. Imogen sighed and nodded, grabbing some fruit on her tray.

"I have to, guys. I need to be with my family, especially right now." Imogen explained, bringing frowns to all of our faces. I wasn't that hungry so I continued to trail behind the girls as they went on about Imogen leaving.

"You're going to come back, right?" Bianca asked. Imogen looked over at me and smiled lightly.

"Of course." she said softly, causing me to smile back at her. Even if they were for short visits, being able to see her gorgeous face again was more than enough.

They collected their trays and walked toward the table, sitting down. I sat next to Imogen as Bianca and Fiona sat across from us.

"You're not hungry, babe?" Imogen asked, looking over at me. I shook my head and smirked, inching my lips close to her ear.

"I already had my meal." I whispered huskily, causing her to blush intensely.

"Kay, gross." Fiona muttered, shaking up her milk carton. I rolled my eyes playfully and watched as they ate, staying silent.

They caught up on plenty of subjects, making sure to fit in each second more that they had left with Imogen. I didn't mind, since I had the whole rest of the afternoon to spend time with my girlfriend.

The bell rang, signaling that lunch period was over. Imogen, Bianca, Fiona and I hurried out of the lunch room and out into the hall.

"Are you going to stay for the last class?" Bianca asked, twirling a loose strand of hair in between her fingers. Imogen shrugged and shifted her weight to her left leg.

"How about the four of us _skip _last period and go get into some trouble?" I suggested, watching as grins appeared on all of their faces. They nodded in agreement and followed me out as we exited the front doors of the school.

We hurried down the front steps of the school, escaping any chance of getting caught by a teacher. We ran to my dads truck as I unlocked it quickly. Fiona and Bianca climbed in the backseat; Imogen and I settling in the front.

"So where are we off to?" I asked, starting the car. The girls pondered the thought as I sped out of the entrance of the school.

"How about shopping?" Fiona asked.

"I don't have any money for shopping." Bianca responded.

"Yeah, that's true. I don't either." Imogen agreed, causing Fiona to frown.

"What about the club?" Bianca offered.

"We don't have ID's. Plus, what kind of club are we going to find this early in the day?" I told her, shaking my head.

"You got a point there!" Bianca admitted. I sighed heavily, stopping at a red light.

"I have an idea! We should go play laser tag!" Imogen chirped, grinning widely.

"Laser tag?" Bianca asked, her face scrunched up.

"What if I fall in these heels?" Fiona added, pointing down to her five inch heels. Imogen sighed and turned to face them.  
>"Have either of you even <em>played <em>laser tag?" Imogen asked. They glanced at each other before shaking their heads quickly. I chuckled to myself before adding my opinion.

"Laser tag is fun as hell! I played it with Adam and some other guys a few times. You just go into a dark room with a light up jacket and a laser gun and then shoot at the other team to get points." I said, smiling over at Imogen. She giggled and nodded.  
>"Will it hurt?" Fiona asked anxiously. Bianca and I rolled our eyes.<p>

"No, silly. The laser isn't _real_. Trust me, you'll have fun." Imogen answered, smiling reassuringly.

"Well alright..." Fiona responded, nodding in agreement. The two girls looked over at Bianca as Bianca sighed heavily.

"Fine, whatever. It better be fun." she said. That was basically her way of saying yes. The car ride was silent except for the music coming from the radio.

It took about another twenty minutes to pull up to the nearest Family Fun Center where laser tag and mini golf were held. We all exited the vehicle and walked into the FFC, looking around at the half empty place.

Most of the kids were probably at school since it was only 12pm, and the only adults there were either old, or they worked there.

"So, how does this game work? Is it only going to be us four playing, or...?" Bianca asked, taking a seat at one of the nearest tables.

"Yeah. We'll split into teams of two and then we'll go into the room and shoot the hell out of each other." I answered, grabbing Imogen's hand. She was definitely going to be my partner. Fiona frowned down at our hands.

"Hey, no fair! Both of you know how to play the game! It's only fair if each of you pair with one of us." She said, placing her hands on her small hips. I groaned and walked over to Fiona as Imogen paired with Bianca.

"I'll go pay for a game." I said, walking away swiftly. I walked up to the worker behind the cash register as he fiddled around with it.

"Hi." I said simply, catching his attention.

"Hello sir, how can I help you?" the guy asked, smiling cheerily.

"A game of laser tag for four?" I asked, digging in my pocket for my wallet. The guy fiddled around on the cash register until a price of 15.00 popped up on the monitor. As I grabbed the money, the dude pressed a button, deducting the price by 5.00.

"Dun dun dun dun, dunnn! You came just in time for the discount of 5 dollars off!" The man shouted, causing me to widen my eyes briefly.

"Right..." I said, awkwardly handing him the ten dollar bill. He handed me four laser jackets, two blue and two red.

I walked back over to the girls and handed Imogen and Bianca the red jackets, saving the blue for Fiona and I. We all put the jackets on, pulling the laser guns from the pocket.

"Alright chickies, now this how the game is going to go," I began, watching as they eyed me curiously. "The game lasts 7 minutes and 30 seconds. Whoever has the most points by the end of the game wins!"

They all nodded, exchanging excited smiles as we walked toward the room door leading to the game room.

"You guys ready?" Imogen asked, holding up her laser gun.

"More ready than I'll ever be." Fiona said, throwing her heels to the side. One of the workers opened the door to the room as Fiona and I ran in first. Seconds later, Bee and Imogen trailed after us, our laser guns clicking on.

I hit the first laser, shooting Bianca's jacket. It powered down, causing her to groan irritatingly.

"I'm gona get you, Goldsworthy!" she threatened, chasing me around the pitched black room. I noticed Fiona hiding behind one of the painted trashcans and sighed heavily.

"Fi, get up!" I warned; but it was too late. Imogen shot her with her laser gun, blowing the tip for emphasis.

"I'm dead!" Fiona shouted, getting up from the ground. I attempted to make my way over there as Bianca shot me, powering down my jacket. I pulled Fiona to the side, hiding from the two brunettes.

"You can't just sit there, Fi. You gotta fight back so we can win this!" I whispered. Fiona nodded quickly as our jackets powered back to life.

We jumped from behind the wall and shot at Bee and Imogen, powering down their jackets immediately. We all laughed uncontrollably as the game continued to get more and more fun.

Before we knew it, our 7 minutes were up and the lights turned on; our lights fading in the brightness. I quickly checked the back of my laser gun, checking out the score.

"We got 7,503 points! What 'bout you?" I asked, checking over Imogen's shoulder. She squealed and pointed her gun to me, revealing her score of 9,050 points.

"We won, Bee!" she laughed, mocking Fiona and me. Fiona breathed heavily, wiping a light sweat from her forehead.

"That was fun! Let's do it again!"

…

Imogen and I lay comfortably across the bed as a scary movie played in the background. She had her head rested on my chest with her arm wrapped tightly around my waist.

"I can't believe you're leaving me in less than 10 hours." I whispered, rubbing her back lightly. It was 12 am, and her flight would be pulling in at 8 o'clock in the morning. Imogen sniffed, lifting her head up to look at me.

"Please, let's not talk about that." she pleaded, her brown eyes begging softly. I nodded, pecking her forehead. Truthfully, I couldn't help _but _to think about it. With her dozens of suitcases piled neatly by the door, and her passport sitting calmly on the nightstand, it all haunted me painfully. I fell in love with this beautiful girl laying next to me, and I'd continue to love her, no matter how far in distance we were soon to be.

"I had a lot of fun today." I said after a minute, grabbing the remote from the nightstand and cutting off the TV. The room turned pitched black as I pulled Imogen closer to me.

"Seeing you fall on your ass in that second round of laser tag was priceless." Imogen said, giggling softly. I chuckled as my eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.

"Fiona's driver is going to pick us up in her limousine tomorrow morning when she comes with us to the airport." I said, hearing a sigh from her seconds later.

"I thought you weren't going to talk about it." she whined.

"I'm sorry. I'm really trying not to, it's just, that's all that I can think about." I admitted, feeling a slight bit of guilt. She reached her head up and pecked my lips, resting her lips over mine for seconds longer.

"Think I can put your mind on something else?" she asked. I could make out her whitened smile in the darkness, and I was pretty sure at was she was hinting at.

"Maybe you could try?" I teased, grinning to myself.

And believe me, it was a mission accomplished.

…

The three of us walked slowly through the airport, Imogen's hand locked tightly with mine. She had been crying all morning, and fresh tears brimmed her eyes.

"Babe, please don't cry." I whispered, turning her to face me. She sniffed, wiping her tears away, only for new ones to fall.

"I'm sorry." she weeped painfully. I wrapped my arms securely around her as she sobbed softly into my shoulder. I glanced over at Fiona as she looked down sadly at her feet.

As much as I wanted to just break down along with her, I had to be strong enough for the both of us. Minutes later, she pulled her head back, looking deep into my eyes. I trailed my thumb under her eyelids, wiping away her oppressed tears.

She pressed her lips against mine, letting them linger over mine for minutes on end.

"Five minutes til' take off to Lakeland, Florida; Five minutes!" The announcer called as passengers began boarding through the gate. Imogen looked over at the gate and shuddered, burying her head deep into my neck.

"I don't want to go." she wailed; her tears vibrating through my body. Tears quietly dropped from Fiona's eyes as she joined in on the dismayed hug. We held each other for as long as we could before Imogen had to reluctantly pull away.

"Promise me you'll call me every day." she said, looking between Fiona and I.

"I promise." Fiona whispered, linking her pinkie with Imogen's. I titled Imogen's face up and captured her lips in hungry, anxious kisses. It took every fiber inside of me to pull away as the last calls for her flight were announced.

"You can count on it." I breathed, looking into her beautiful brown eyes. She smiled sadly and gave us a quick hug, grabbing her bag from the ground. She started walking toward the gate, pulling her hair out of her face. I stared after her morosely as she walked through the shuttled doors.

She swiftly turned around, making eye contact with me.

She mouthed the words _I love you, _blowing me a sweet, long, kiss. I pretended to catch it, grinning through my sadness.

_I love you too_, I mouthed back, a tear shedding against its will. It traveled down my cheek, dropping to the ground. The gate then closed, thrashing me in the heart. She was gone, and it hurt more than ever before. Fiona grabbed my hand and looked up at me through gloomy eyes.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly. Even though crystal tears were brimming my eyes as we spoke, I smiled through them, thinking of nothing but Imogen.

"I will be. I'll see her again. This definitely isn't the end of Imogen and me." I said softly, looking down at Fiona.  
>This was ultimately a new chapter in our lives, reminding me that if we were able to make it through everything that happened, we'd be able to make it through <em>anything. <em>

_**The end. **_

**Author's Note: Ahhhh, tears. :'( I can't believe I'm done with this story! D': I had so much fun writing it, and I'm glad that all of you enjoyed it so much! As a favor to me, when you review, could you possibly ****add some of your favorite characters and memories from the story? It'd mean sooo much to me. :'3**__

**also, I'm starting TWO new stories that will be coming out VERY soon, so you need to look out for them!**

**One will be a **_**Final Destination**_** based fic, from the popular movie series. I'm VERY excited to start that one, because Final Destination is ultimately one of my favorite suspense filled movies. If you follow me on Twitter, you'll be receiving hints and more as each chapter progresses. :)**

**The other will be a fic based on the popular TV show series **_**Survivor, **_**where for the FIRST time, you the readers, will interact with the story and be able to choose who's getting voted off, what obstacles they'll play next, and much more! That will also be a comedy. ;) **

**I'm very excited to start those FF's, so make sure to look out for them in the very near future! I love you all **_**sooooo **_**freaking much! **

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